Comments on: Trading Standards get in a tizz over free software http://www.openrightsgroup.org/2006/02/24/trading-standards-get-in-a-tizz-over-free-software/ Protecting your rights in the digital age Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:58:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Suw Charman http://www.openrightsgroup.org/2006/02/24/trading-standards-get-in-a-tizz-over-free-software/#comment-342 Suw Charman Tue, 07 Mar 2006 21:55:20 +0000 http://www.openrightsgroup.org/?p=82#comment-342 One day, I would like to have a dedicated education officer. Meantime, there's just me. One day, I would like to have a dedicated education officer. Meantime, there’s just me.

]]> By: Steve Bowbrick http://www.openrightsgroup.org/2006/02/24/trading-standards-get-in-a-tizz-over-free-software/#comment-341 Steve Bowbrick Tue, 07 Mar 2006 19:22:37 +0000 http://www.openrightsgroup.org/?p=82#comment-341 Fascinating collision of worldviews. I guess the larger problem for a campaigning group like ORG is that copyright in general is very poorly understood almost everywhere. After all, buying and using IP historically requires no knowledge at all of rights schemes. If public understanding of new rights models is important then it's probably time to develop a programme to get IP issues into the national curriculum, onto sixth form and FE business studies courses and elsewhere. Does ORG have an education officer? :-> Fascinating collision of worldviews. I guess the larger problem for a campaigning group like ORG is that copyright in general is very poorly understood almost everywhere. After all, buying and using IP historically requires no knowledge at all of rights schemes. If public understanding of new rights models is important then it’s probably time to develop a programme to get IP issues into the national curriculum, onto sixth form and FE business studies courses and elsewhere. Does ORG have an education officer? :->

]]> By: Tom http://www.openrightsgroup.org/2006/02/24/trading-standards-get-in-a-tizz-over-free-software/#comment-328 Tom Fri, 24 Feb 2006 13:13:11 +0000 http://www.openrightsgroup.org/?p=82#comment-328 This says a lot to me. It's good that trading standards in the UK really want to the right thing and aren't just into protecting corporations. However, this particular enforcement officer clearly doesn't understand licensing laws. Most software is leased now, copying and selling CDs is legitimate for Microsoft Office and is a service provided to Universities all the time. The difference is the Universities have site licences for the software. Copying media is really crudest form of determining ownership. This is going to become a big problem with digital music distribution. No longer is a physical CD enough to demonstrate your right to listen to a recording. Now you need to keep a transactional history to prove ownership or the very copiable bits which make up an MP3, AAC, WMA or whatever. Try enforcing that! If trading standards want to get to grips with ownership and licensing of things based on IP they need to wise up and realise that physical assets mean nothing. This says a lot to me.

It’s good that trading standards in the UK really want to the right thing and aren’t just into protecting corporations.

However, this particular enforcement officer clearly doesn’t understand licensing laws. Most software is leased now, copying and selling CDs is legitimate for Microsoft Office and is a service provided to Universities all the time. The difference is the Universities have site licences for the software. Copying media is really crudest form of determining ownership.

This is going to become a big problem with digital music distribution. No longer is a physical CD enough to demonstrate your right to listen to a recording. Now you need to keep a transactional history to prove ownership or the very copiable bits which make up an MP3, AAC, WMA or whatever. Try enforcing that!

If trading standards want to get to grips with ownership and licensing of things based on IP they need to wise up and realise that physical assets mean nothing.

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