On Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 10:09 AM, prabir<[email protected]> wrote: >>>snip > There is no software patents in India is still not settled as an > issue. The Patents office has accepted patents which can be construed > as software patents and has also put a draft a manual which allows > software patents if it is a technical application, whatever that > means. This is quite close to EPO provisions. I do believe that this > is a longer term issue that the FOSS community needs to engage with, > but some here believe that it should not be part of a common minimum > agenda. > This leaves two ways of dealing with it -- we deal with it outside > FOSSCOMM or we consider this to be an interest only of some of the > members and form a sub group of people interested in this issue. > Prabir
I am all for software patents being addressed firmly within FOSSCOMM's ambit. If FOSSCOMM has to be the voice of the FOSS community in India, it has to address those issues that are vital to its survival and growth. Software patents is one such critical issue. I am least worried about a Common Minimum Program at this point in time. (Please, please don't consider this as criticism of the CMP idea.) The FOSS community has grown phenomenally over the years and will continue to grow. However, we need to vigorously address issues like software patents and open standards because these are decisive battles that lie at the heart of creating an inclusive digital society. Our vision of the digital society is of an open and inclusive one, while the proprietary vendors want a closed, monopolistic vision to prevail. FOSSCOMM should lead and fight these battles. I really don't want to see our focus diluted for the sake of bringing more players under this umbrella. Venky _______________________________________________ network mailing list [email protected] http://lists.fosscom.in/listinfo.cgi/network-fosscom.in
