News of the impending conflab stirred the corporate intellectual property combines into action. The Business Software Association (BSA) opposes any assertion that open development and liberal licensing models might offer users advantages that proprietary software doesn't. In the case of this proposed WIPO conference, the USPTO has happily toed the BSA party line.
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.No wonder Larry's having a thrombo. If this is the position of a senior USPTO official, then the office has gone from being an agency in the service of the common good into a mere mouthpiece for narrow corporate interest."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.
Free software licenses explicitly promote intellectual property rights. They merely assign those rights differently than do more restrictive licenses. To claim that liberally licensed, open source software somehow weakens intellectual property rights is completely irresponsible. It goes so far as to be a lie on its face. It is clear, however, that "open and collaborative development models for research and innovation" are a potent threat to entrenched businesses who refuse to adapt.
The rot of cash-fuelled corporate influence that has corrupted elected officials has spread into the bureaucracy. Just as Enron makes energy policy, the investment banks decides what passes for good conduct in the equity markets, and News Corp calls the shots on media ownership, vested interests are using public policy to stifle competition. Ultimately, we are losing our rights in secret.
