"Australia's national open source industry body, OSIA (Open Source Industry Australia), and Linux Australia have spoken out about their concerns over the proposed Australian-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA), warning that the legal framework of the intellectual property clauses will put the entire Australian software development industry at risk.
The companies have released a joint statement saying the introduction of a US style patenting system for software is "not in Australia's interest" and "will increasingly hamper Australia's ability to efficiently compete in global markets".
Open source spokesman, Brendan Scott, said the clause will have wider reaching effects than just the open source community.
"The FTA may introduce obstacles and legal traps which will have serious and harmful effects on almost all Australian software developers. It's a whole-of-industry issue for Australia," he said."
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Source:
ZDNet, Australia
Aug 9, 2004, 12:31 PM
