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This is a bit too much: the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA)—of which the infamous MPAA and RIAA are a part of—wants the US government to put Indonesia into a Section 301 watchlist. Why? The Indonesian government is encouraging the adoption of Free Open Source Software (FOSS) by government agencies. This, according to the IIPA:
…simply weakens the software industry and undermines its long-term competitiveness by creating an artificial preference for companies offering open source software and related services, even as it denies many legitimate companies access to the government market.
Rather than fostering a system that will allow users to benefit from the best solution available in the market, irrespective of the development model, it encourages a mindset that does not give due consideration to the value to intellectual creations.
As such, it fails to build respect for intellectual property rights and also limits the ability of government or public-sector customers (e.g., State-owned enterprise) to choose the best solutions.
Countries in the 301 watchlist are, in the words of The Guardian’s Bobbie Johnson, “enemies of capitalism”. That kind of stance makes sense against countries that promote the production of counterfeit goods, and there is where the IIPA’s argument would be reasonable.
By attacking the Indonesian government’s preference (not requirement) that its own agencies use FOSS, the IIPA comes off as ludicruous. The organization claims it wants to reduce copyright infringement on behalf of its members. So wouldn’t it encourage the adoption of open source? Available at much lower prices or even free, that kind of software would reduce the instances of infringement.
The whole thing seems crazy until you realize they’re simply trying to protect the bottom lines of big software companies, who stand to lose a lot if FOSS sees widespread adoption anywhere. I guess it’s easier for the IIPA to mislead, than for these companies to develop products that are genuinely worth their price.
Encouraging Open Source Could Land You in Trouble, When using open source makes you an enemy of the state
This is exactly why you need free markets and small government.
804 days ago
[...] the same report that has caused an online uproar, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) recommended that the US Trade [...]
This is exactly why you need free markets and small government. A government that can pretend to “protect” it’s constituents in the market, will inevitably do this kind of blatant protectionism.
The real enemy of capitalism here is the IIPA, as they don’t want to fairly compete with the people offering the same capital good “software” at a much lower price, proving that they either are less efficient, or lower quality. Basically, they suck, so they are crying home to mommy to change the rules by force.