From http://consultation.ffii.org/
"In January 2006, the European Commission started a consultation on a project that, if it goes according to current plans, will result in the legalization of software patents, which are known to be devastating to the software industry. The project is the Community Patent. While the essential idea, having EU-wide patents, is a good one, the current Commission proposal would transfer EU and member state legislative and judicial power to the European Patent Office, which would effectively legalize their hitherto illegal practice of granting software patents.
The Commission asks any interested party to fill-in a questionnaire with their views. The Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) questions the validity of the procedure, based on the serious lack of accessibility, which means that a majority of EU businesses are completely excluded from answering. However, we also recommend participation to those businesses that are able to do so, since this will demonstrate to what extent businesses are affected."
Those on the list that live in Europe (excluding Switzerland), please participate http://consultation.ffii.org/How_to_Answer.
Regards,
Adriaan van Os