Short version
The Austrian Pirate Party (natively the "Piraten Partei Österreichs" or abbreviated "PPÖ") was founded in Vienna in July 2006. The idea: Compared to the ongoing developments in the information society the state is reacting very slow on changes. Austria and the rest of Europe are following a rather dangerous path in terms of privacy, copyright and patent systems. Being part of a large international network, the newly born Austrian Pirate Party stands for human rights in the digital era.
PPÖ's core issues are
- Guarding privacy
- Reforming copyright laws in Austria
- Reforming the patent system in Austria
The tree main beliefs of the Austrian pirate party are the need for protecting civil rights, the will to free our culture and the conclusion that patents and private monopolies are damaging society.
As information technology is getting more and more important for our lives, laws and regulations in this context are also gaining in importance. But the current legal positions [in Austria] and their hold by the industry are mainly hurting the people these laws are designed to protect.
Copyright is not longer useful to assure artists a safe income, it is rather protecting the monopoly (of attention) of the big labels. Also the patent system is no longer permitting innovation, it's rather slowing it down. In times of wars against terrorism the privacy of the common man is cut down drastically.
The advancements in the IT industry affect everyone. That's why it's important to pave the way for the future now.
The Pirate Party Austria (PPÖ) wants to run for government this October. For 2009 all pirate parties of Europe are going form an alliance to run for the big European elections. The main international interest goes to Sweden, where the Piratpartiet is running for government this September.
Pirate Party Austria
Free Knowledge, Free Culture, Free People!
Homepage: http://ppoe.or.at (German)
international info: http://ppoe.or.at/international
Contact: Florian Hufsky (temporary spokesman): florian.hufsky@pirateparty.at
