[Linux-aus] IP legislation threatens Australian ICT business! (was: An Open Letter to the Attorney-General of Australia from the President of Linux Australia)

[Greg 'groggy' Lehey]

On Tuesday,  4 July 2006 at 22:27:55 +0930, Janet Hawtin wrote:
> Robyn M wrote:
>> Does Linux-Aus have a proof reader? There is a spelling mistake in the
>> first paragraph and the second one reads very badly if you aren't
>> techie.
>
> mea culpa
> I looked at it and didnt see it.
>
> Robyn, fancy drafting something for the SA government? =)
> We could do with more profile raising across the board.
> I've been writing to all sorts of people on my own behalf.
> Some others have been too.
> Would be great if there were some more people doing it. =)
> I think the quiz is going to be adapted for
> http://squareonemedia.org/

In that connection, Rusty has been invited to a meeting of the ICT
council for South Australia on the 27th.  Maybe that's what you're
referring to above, but the ICT council is just an advisory body, not
a government agency.

I like the tenor of the original message.  Also, quite honestly, I
don't think that the grammatical error I saw would even be noticed,
let alone detract from the message.  There are enough errors of this
nature in official documentation as well.

What *does* make a difference is perspective.  The message to the
Attorney-General comes very much from an open source perspective.
That's fine; that's our main concern.  But if we want to get buy-in
from other groups, we need to point at something that hurts them, not
open source.

During my time as a board member of the ICT council, I've got a
feeling for what the membership thinks of open source: they're not
opposed, but they think it's a little irrelevant.  This is an issue
that needs addressing in a number of ways, most obviously by
convincing them that open source is the way of the future, will bring
you untold millions in income and will make you more attractive to the
sexual partners of your choice.

Getting back to the matter at hand, though, the course is clear:  "US
laws threaten viability of Australian ICT business".  Sure, mention
open source too, but if we want to convince these people, it shouldn't
be centre stage.  The issues that worry them are whether their
companies will be disadvantaged by the legislation.

Can somebody come up with some ideas?  I'd be happy to review drafts,
but I have neither the time nor the overview to write something
myself.

Greg
--
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