Pirate Party prepares for Dutch Parliamentary elections

The pirates approach! This Saturday, the Dutch pirate party held her first public meeting. The goal is to prepare the party for the coming parliamentary elections on the ninth of June.

The pirate party is part of the international network of likeminded parties. In Sweden, the piratenpartiet obtained two seats in the European Parliament. In Germany, the pirates hold two municipal seats. One in Aachen and one in Munich.

The party aims to limit the reach of intellectual property rights. They support the idea of shortening the validity of copyright to a period of five years and want to develop an alternative patent system, which they deem “deadly” for innovation. Furthermore, the party aims to legalise non-commercial copying.

Not just targeting intellectual property, the pirate party intends to fight for civil rights in the digital environment, notably privacy.

There is no election programme yet, neither is it known who will lead the party.

To be able to establish as a party eligible for parliamentary elections, the party needs to obtain 30 autographs in each of the 19 constituencies. Furthermore, the party urgently needs financial support. They require about 12.000 Euro, the bulk of which is used as a deposit meant to test if the founders are serious about their aspirations.

8 March 2010