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<TT><FONT COLOR="#737373">Linux Australia president Jon Oxer has welcomed the release of the Australian House of Representatives Report of Technological Protection Measures under the AUSFTA. </FONT></TT><BR>
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<TT><FONT COLOR="#737373">"The report contains a range of measures that we feel will benefit both the industry and the consumer," said Oxer. "In particular the recommended exception for interoperability between computer programs and data, if adopted, will ensure that both the consumer and the industry are not shackled by vendor lock in or corporate agendas."</FONT></TT><BR>
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<TT><FONT COLOR="#737373">The report "clearly articulates the very issues that were a direct threat to Open Source developers and implementers in Australia and it is refreshing to see an informed and middle ground stance by the Government on this issue" says Rusty Russell, the Linux Australia IP Policy Advisor who has been lobbying about these issues for almost two years.</FONT></TT><BR>
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<TT><FONT COLOR="#737373">The report - released March 1st this year - contains recommendations that include a range of new exceptions to copyright anti-circumvention statutes as well as various other topics.</FONT></TT> <BR>
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<TT>About Linux Australia</TT><BR>
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<TT>Linux Australia exists to serve and promote the Australian Linux and Open Source community. The organisation aims to do this best by taking</TT><BR>
<TT>enthusiasms within the community, such as FOSS issues, projects, education, advocacy just to name a few, and help them flourish, to succeed. The lifeblood of this organisation is the people in the community, and Linux Australia strives to be both relevant and useful to the community. For more details on Linux Australia visit <A HREF="http://linux.org.au">http://linux.org.au</A></TT><BR>
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