[Linux-aus] Re: [Announce] An Open Letter to the Attorney-General of Australia from the President of Linux Australia

[Robyn M]

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.

These are the things that need to be correct if anyone is going to
understand this and take us seriously.

Robyn

On Tue, 2006-07-04 at 15:00 +1000, James Purser wrote:
> Please find below an Open Letter to the Attorney General from the President of Linux Australia.
> 
> July 3rd, 2006
> Attorney-General's Department
> Central Office
> Robert Garran Offices
> National Circuit
> Barton ACT 2600
> 
> Attn: Mr Philip Ruddock, Attorney-General
> 
> Dear Dr Ruddock,
> 
> Business threatened by possible anti-circumvention laws
> 
> Open Source software is now a multi-billion dollar worldwide industry. In Australia you would be
> hard-pressed to find a large or small businesses which doesn't run some part of its IT infrastructure
> on Open Source software. Increasingly, this software is the platform on which Australian businesses
> are built as well as providing significant opportunities for the further development of the local ICT
> industry in particular.
> 
> Proposals to outlaw legitimate access to copyright material threaten that infrastructure by creating
> new legal weapons against legitimate competition and forcing business to migrate back towards the
> incumbent and predominantly international software suppliers. Business disruption and higher
> prices will be one side-effect of poor implementation of our anti-circumvention AUSFTA
> obligations.
> 
> Fortunately, as our representative Paul Russell proposed to your department, you have the ability to
> define circumvention as a nefarious act in the legislation, thus protecting copyright without
> abolishing competition in non-copyright goods and services. This would meet our treaty obligations
> as well as the key recommendations of the LACA TPM Exceptions enquiry. I would welcome an
> opportunity to meet with you to discuss possible courses of action to protect the interests of the
> vibrant local Open Source software industry.
> 
> We have no issue with laws which give copyright holders authority over fences they place around
> their own property. However, laws which give them authority over fences they place around others'
> property would be absurd, anti-competitive, anti-consumer, and would lead us into a destructive
> blaze of legal threats and litigation for years to come.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Jonathan Oxer
> President
> Linux Australia Inc
> 
> For more information about the issues discussed in this letter you can visit http://linux.org.au/law
>