[Ecommerce] The Register: So WIPO, why did you scrap the Open Source meeting?

[James Love]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/33824.html

So WIPO, why did you scrap the Open Source meeting?
By IT-Analysis
Posted: 06/11/2003 at 13:16 GMT


The World Intellectual Property (WIPO) is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
WIPO is one of the 16 specialised agencies of the United Nations system
of organisations, writes Bob McDowall of Bloor Research. It administers
23 international treaties dealing with different aspects of intellectual
property protection. The Organisation counts 179 nations as members.

WIPO is an international organisation dedicated to promoting the use and
protection of works of the human spirit. These works - intellectual
property - are expanding the bounds of science and technology and
enriching the world of the arts. Through its work, WIPO plays an
important role in enhancing the quality and enjoyment of life and helps
create real wealth for nations.

Given its background and mandate it is surprising that it scrapped its
first meeting on "open and collaborative" projects such as "open source
software." After all open source software does, indeed rely on
intellectual property rights. It cannot exist without them. It is,
therefore, bemusing that the US Director of International Relations for
the US Patent and Trademark Office apparently opposed such a meeting,
claiming that such a meeting would run against the mission of WIPO to
promote intellectual property rights. At least one of the major US
software companies, probably beginning with the letter "M", is reported
to have lobbied against the holding of such a meeting.

It is curious that WIPO should have acceded to such "requests". It is
even more surprising that a USA Government Agency should so manifestly
promote such views, at least in such a clumsy and unsophisticated way.
It is even more surprising that WIPO acceded to such demands, if,
indeed, these were the reasons for "scrapping" such a meeting.

Leaving aside the demand by commercial organisations for so called "open
source" software products, governments, government organisations and
agencies are increasingly seeking open source software products as
cheaper alternatives to commercial software products, ultimately to the
benefit of nations' taxpayers. So WIPO why did you scrap this meeting?


--
James Love, Director, Consumer Project on Technology
http://www.cptech.org, mailto:james.love@cptech.org
tel. +1.202.387.8030, mobile +1.202.361.3040