Brussels, 30 november 05 - The FFII General Assembly yesterday unanimously elected a new president, Pieter Hintjens, to lead the organisation into 2006, backed by a strengthened board.

Following their summer success in defeating the directive on software patents, and the rapid growth of the FFII into 19 countries, the current president and board proposed Pieter Hintjens to lead the FFII into a new phase of growth and activity. The FFII General Assembly unanimously approved Pieter Hintjens's nomination along with a strengthened board that includes FFII founder and former president Hartmut Pilch.

Pieter Hintjens is the 43-year old founder and MD of iMatix Corporation, a
Belgian software firm. He has been active in the debate against software
patents, explaining to the European Patent Office and the European Parliament
why software and business process patents are so deadly for small innovative
firms that are the life-blood of Europe's innovation. He brings to the FFII
his considerable experience both in the business domain and the technical
domain.

"The FFII is a force for the future", said Pieter Hintjens, "and I am proud to
be able to represent this organisation. The goal of my presidency will be to
lay the foundations for managing our rapid growth, for turning ourselves into
a highly professional global organisation, and for delivering results to the
people and industries that depend on us".

Hartmut Pilch, who has lead the FFII since it was founded six years
ago, comments:

"This is a qualitative leap forward for FFII. I knew Pieter as a
charismatic speaker on conferences which we organised in the European
Parliament. When Pieter explained his vision to me and offered to spend a
significant amount of time during the next year to make this vision happen,
I immediately found the offer irresistible. Likewise, Pieter immediately
captured the hearts of yesterday's General Assembly. There is now a mood of
confidence that we will be able to become strong enough to introduce
needed legislation rather than just fight defensive battles. Needless
to say, I will give Pieter all support I can."

FFII