It’s nothing new to see copyright lobbyists making absurd claims about the evils of piracy, but a group called the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has sunk to a new low. In a report to the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) they claim that merely encouraging the use of free or open source software by government agencies promotes piracy.
The report was submitted as part of the USTR’s annual review of international intellectual property enforcement issues. The purpose of this process is supposed to be identifying countries which aren’t doing enough to combat IP infringement.
One solution that’s becoming popular is promoting free and open source software. Such a solution addresses the economic reality that the price of software is a leading cause of piracy, especially in poorer countries.
In their 498 page report the IIPA urges the USTR to bully countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand into discarding policies giving preference to open source software. It even goes so far as to say just promoting the use of such software “encourages a mindset that does not give due consideration to the value to intellectual creations.”
It goes on to suggest that giving preference to open source software stifles innovation
A closer look reveals their true motive, which is selling software from companies belonging to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), one of seven IIPA member organizations. They claim an official policy promoting open source software for government use “amounts to a significant market access barrier for the software industry.”
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