Thousands of AU developers protest US trade pact - Business - News - ZDNet Australia

Thousands of AU developers protest US trade pact

Related gallery

Best Android apps

Best Android apps

Almost 3,000 developers from Australia and abroad have voiced their opposition to the proposed intellectual property clauses in the United States-Australia Free Trade agreement.

Linux Australia, an organisation that claims to represent Linux and open source developers and users in Australia, set up an online petition last month to protest against the impact on the open source community if the pact comes into effect.

Linux Australia spokesperson, Paul Russell told Builder AU that the open source community was concerned about abuse of aspects of the legal regime in the US covered mainly by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and US patent system.

"We needed to publicly air our opposition to adopting such laws here, and the danger of binding ourselves to laws which will hurt us in the near future," Russell said.

Protestors who have signed the online petition believe that chapter 17 of the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement will have a negative affect on the open source community by making some open source software illegal and possibly preventing the Australian Parliament from changing its own intellectual property laws.

"By making 'unauthorised' circumvention of an access control illegal, they have a free hand to implement DVD region-coding, DVD "no-fast-forward" zones, Windows-only music, and whatever other odious restrictions they might choose." Russell said.

"In the United States, the DeCSS code used by open source DVD players (such as those on Linux), is illegal, and we'd have to follow that here. In addition, distribution, creation or import of this code brings criminal, not just civil, penalties," he added.

"Australia has been a leader in developing and adopting open source software, which gives us great potential for future services in this growing sector. We shouldn't be passing laws which hobble competition in these areas".

A copy of the petition will be sent to every Australian MP and Senator along with a letter annotated by points from their local constituents.

According to ABC reports today a federal parliamentary committee tabled a report on the free trade agreement that found the deal was in the national interest.

The coalition government is keen to have the treaty passed by the Senate to cover off its ratification on the Australian side, while it must also be passed by US Congress to come into effect.

Talkback

Add your opinion

In order to post a comment, you need to be registered. (Sign In or register below)

Post your comment

Terms of Service - As a ZDNet registrant, and by using this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understand our Privacy Policy.

ZDNet Australia Live

Ethical iPhone protests hit Apple stores: Daisey told ZDNet Australia that a first-hand trip to Foxconn saw him ... http://t.co/2FKFeSrZ

Optus attacked over council cable costs - Sutherland Shire Council is locked in a stalemate with Optus over the $110... http://t.co/vSc1IhbC

We'll build it, but will they come? http://t.co/0w28x1Ay

Why a $25 computer means revolution http://t.co/QMSqOLaq

We'll build it, but will they come?: I hate to rain on anybody's parade, but the New Zealand Government has unco... http://t.co/1vt5r0W1

by http://t.co/vmlQ0Ecb: We'll build it, but will they come?: I hate to rain on anybody's parade, but the New Zea... http://t.co/7dEGwqqF

Review: Chrome 17, faster than ever, more secure than ever. http://t.co/9HZCYssv

The end of an era as Kodak discontinues camera business http://t.co/dl7yyd7t

Optus attacked over council cable costs: Sutherland Shire Council is locked in a stalemate with Optus over the $... http://t.co/3kpAuwwD

Optus attacked over council cable costs: Sutherland Shire Council is locked in a stalemate with Optus over the $... http://t.co/Xv4IwDP9

Do more lax Australian #privacy laws hurt international business? http://t.co/Uo2t14TP #law

In only 3 months. Yowsers! (And I am one of them) RT @zdnetaustralia: Vodafone sheds 30K more customers: http://t.co/r1CArZg6 #vodafail

"BUT WE'RE SPENDING A BILLION DOLLARS TO BUILD A NEW NETWORK" RT @zdnetaustralia @Vodafone_au sheds 30K more customers: http://t.co/zbF32yQh

RT @zdnetaustralia: Vodafone sheds 30K more customers: http://t.co/hkaD9EeK

Sutherland Shire Council is locked in a stalemate with Optus over the $110,000 cost of a cable replacement http://t.co/zxYTZaJj

Won't that improve the service? RT @zdnetaustralia: Vodafone sheds 30K more customers: http://t.co/cZtRLzPJ

RT @zdnetaustralia: Vodafone sheds 30K more customers: http://t.co/hkaD9EeK

by http://t.co/vmlQ0Ecb: Optus attacked over council cable costs: Sutherland Shire Council is locked in a stalema... http://t.co/CIwHzp5S

Surely Vodafone knew this would happen... the customers certainly did! I jumped ship as soon as I could. http://t.co/ehCrfX2T

It's pretty funny that a local council would think a verbal agreement with Optus was sufficient. http://t.co/Nasa1I9t

Vodafone sheds 30K more customers: http://t.co/hkaD9EeK

RT @zdnetaustralia: Vodafone sheds 30K more customers: http://t.co/hkaD9EeK

RT @CTAspley: Apple set to announce the iPad 3 in early March http://t.co/yTZVTkE3

Ethical iPhone protests hit Apple stores: http://t.co/MjtFB4r7

RT @zdnetaustralia: Ethical iPhone protests hit Apple stores: http://t.co/MjtFB4r7

zvelo is in the news - PC Mag http://t.co/Tg5LCQF1 PC World http://t.co/vj9siTzR ZDNet http://t.co/jkeQ8NOt c|net http://t.co/eAM1Z9nX

RT @zdnetaustralia: Kodak discontinues camera business http://t.co/jqKWDFO7 < my very first camera was a Kodak instamatic

Apple set to announce the iPad 3 in early March http://t.co/yTZVTkE3

Interpol defends voluntary filter: ZDNet Australia http://t.co/ovXm1UHb (Badly, really.)

Aussie activists call for "ethical iPhone": Activists today gathered at the Apple Store in Sydney's CBD to deliv... http://t.co/KgfQQWdu

Aussie activists call for "ethical iPhone": Activists today gathered at the Apple Store in Sydney's CBD to deliv... http://t.co/zbKQLRhX

RT @zdnetaustralia: Why a $25 computer means revolution http://t.co/ufWQdLzT

RT @zdnetaustralia: Google is reportedly getting ready to take on Dropbox with its own cloud-based storage service http://t.co/qEoMRSk4

Why a $25 computer means revolution: And just as the electronics have shrunk, so has the price — opening up the ... http://t.co/kdvMBPEm

buy convert dvd to asf to your friends

1 hour ago by chatheli on 700MHz auction: The death knell for Aussie 4G?

Good article and some good comments guys. The lazy, monopolistic bullies that are bleating about this (TA, AFL, NRL, CA etc) need a reali...

1 hour ago by Progressive on More TV Now may mean less TV later

Lax data privacy laws hurt Australia: Australia may be setting a bad example and limiting its ... http://t.co/0OTpy0W7 #Data #Protection

The Raseberry has a great role in automating heating and cooling systems, and in process control. Just get a few termisters along with an...

1 hour ago by lsatenstein on Why a $25 computer means revolution

invention these appreciate Every using after Numerous Not well ordering customer any custom route do make these current can consider of N...

3 hours ago by gurbapagnonna on Abetz shifted in reshuffle

I'd say a reasonable amount of it would be. In the Queensland Department of Education's case, it said it was trying to make as much of it...

4 hours ago by suzanne.tindal on The application nation

Great article, Suzanne—couldn’t agree more. It is only logical for organisations – private or public-- to take a long, hard look â€...

4 hours ago by kashe on The application nation

Every example of action against child molesters in this story related to internet protocols other than the www. This filter then achieves...

4 hours ago by Bob.H on Interpol defends voluntary filter

Soooo... it's okay for Apple to demand use of technologies and designs falling under competitors patents (considered "standards"), but on...

13 hours ago by MoWeb on Apple wants new rules for mobile patents

But I am having an intelligent conversation young fibes, my point is the lofty goal that all are equal is unfortunately not so. That is w...

15 hours ago by Doubt on NBN Co inks $620m satellite deal

May be so, but we do need to lighten up some of these people who are so serious. poor old fibretech nearly brings tears to the eyes and j...

15 hours ago by Doubt on Turnbull decries 'Rolls-Royce' satellites

The latest MS Windows update for XP tries hard to persuade you to update. For those machines that already have IE8 loaded it tries to re-...

15 hours ago by brak on Windows XP clings on as dominant OS

Will be interesting to see if he drives the qld gov political IT agenda or looks to address the IT challenges being faced by qld gov agen...

15 hours ago by Flly on Queensland's CIO returns to the post

So angry! NOKIA has forgotten the main purpose and the user function, and instead prioritised their industry level concerns. I bought my...

16 hours ago by spaceagesoup on Nokia skips Australia in Symbian Belle roll-out

I get what you mean in your context, meski. If the filter is like speed cameras, then people can alternately take side streets and back r...

18 hours ago by techkid on Interpol defends voluntary filter

Remind me again how people can get to a leadership position with absolutely no practical knowledge? I would ask Alexander how he intends...

18 hours ago by cleversoap on Internet won't always be anonymous: ITU

I was reading about DMARC at http://www.unlocktheinbox.com/resources/dmarc.aspx, perhaps they should try to implement something like this...

19 hours ago by wpfn on Phishing scam causes Telstra email woe

As you can tell, I'm a big follower. For AFL read NRL.

20 hours ago by phildobbie on The TV Now aftermath

Im not sure if David Gallop realises he now works for the AFL.

20 hours ago by katerich on The TV Now aftermath

That assumes that people see the stop sign. If you're using proxies, or whatever *all* the time, then these stop signs will never be obs...

21 hours ago by meski on Interpol defends voluntary filter

The advanced remote controlled machines reduce the human working rate from hazardous environment.

21 hours ago by Manasy on Robotic mining worth its high cost: Rio

This story has been voted 20 times in the last 24 hours!

2 days ago, Symantec confirms hacker extortion

This story has been voted 10 times in the last 24 hours!

2 days ago, Symantec confirms hacker extortion

Facebook Activity

Keep up with ZDNet Australia

ZDNet Events Calendar

ZDNet Events Calendar