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[FYI] OSS strikes a starkly different, and sometimes opposite, pose from that of traditional capitalist systems
http://www.detnews.com/2003/technology/0308/22/technology-250851.htm
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Friday, August 22, 2003
The quiet war over open-source
By Jonathan Krim / The Washington Post
[...]
So alarmed agents of Microsoft sprang into high gear in June after a
surprising quote appeared in Nature magazine from an official of the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The official said
the Switzerland-based group of about 180 nations, which promotes
intellectual-property rights and standards around the globe, was
intrigued by the growth of the open-source movement and welcomed the
idea of a meeting devoted to open-source's place in the intellectual-
property landscape.
The proposal for the meeting had come in a letter from nearly 60
technologists, economists and academics from around the world, and
was organized by James Love, who runs the Ralph Nader-affiliated
Consumer Project on Technology.
Love and others argue that in some areas, such as pharmaceuticals or
software that powers critical infrastructure or educational tools,
developing nations in particular would benefit from less restrictive
or alternative copyright, patent or trademark systems.
In short order, lobbyists from Microsoft-funded trade groups were
pushing officials at the State Department and the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office to squelch the meeting. One lobbyist, Emery Simon
with the Business Software Alliance, said his group objected to the
suggestion in the proposal that overly broad or restrictive
intellectual-property rights might in some cases stunt technological
innovation and economic growth.
Simon insists that his group does not oppose open-source software, or
discussion of the issue, but fights to defend the notion that a
strong system of proprietary rights offers the best avenue for the
development of groundbreaking software by giving its inventors
economic incentive to do so.
And he said that the BSA's governing board, composed of several
companies in addition to Microsoft, unanimously opposed the letter
and the meeting.
The U.S. government, which wields considerable clout in WIPO, might
not have needed prodding from Microsoft to demand that the idea of an
open-source meeting be quashed.
Lois Boland, director of international relations for the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office, said that open-source software runs counter to
the mission of WIPO, which is to promote intellectual-property rights.
"To hold a meeting which has as its purpose to disclaim or waive such
rights seems to us to be contrary to the goals of WIPO," she said.
She added that the WIPO official who embraced the meeting had done so
without proper consultation with the member states, and that WIPO's
budget already is strained and cannot accommodate another meeting
next year.
Boland said that if groups such as Love's want an international forum
for discussion of open-source, they need to find another organization
to host it.
The WIPO official, Francis Gurry, did not return numerous calls for
comment, but the organization has said it no longer has plans for an
open-source gathering.
The meeting dust-up is further inflaming an argument that has the
fervor of religious debate.
Open-source proponents note that its software is here to stay,
gaining adoption within the federal government and elsewhere. And
they argue that many open-source models rely on property rights
through licenses, but apply them in less traditional ways.
More broadly, though, they envision a world in which the Internet is
the connective tissue that creates a public commons, a place where
art and technology should be shared as well as bought and sold. Why,
they ask, should that not be debated with vigor?
But open-source is not just a political challenge. It strikes a
starkly different, and sometimes opposite, pose from that of
traditional capitalist systems.
And that prospect quickly draws the lobbyists, even if the public
isn't tuned in.
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