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GPL Debate Continues - Catholics v. Protestants?
Posted by Ernest Miller on Saturday, October 26 @ 11:35:24 EDT OpenSource
As previously featured on LawMeme (New Democrats: No Gov't $ to GPL Projects) and (Congressman Distances Himself from Attack on GPL), several members of the New Democrat Coalition have been circulating a note attacking the GPL and encouraging their colleagues to support a letter from Jim Turner (D-TX) and Tom Davis (R-VA), the ranking member and chairman, respectively, of the Reform Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy. The letter is addressed to the Chair of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board and calls on him to explicitly reject "licenses that would prevent or discourage commercial adoption of promising cyber security technologies developed through federal R&D."

Prof. Larry Lessig continues the discussion with some brief thoughts on the recent controversy (GNU democrats). Inspired by the anti-GPL letter, Ad Usum Delphinorum analogizes the struggle between Open Source and Closed Source software to the 17th century debate in Europe that raged between Catholics and Protestants (Open Source & Theology I). A sample:

It is once again time to argue strongly, in order to protect the rights of users, for the separation of Church and State: the government adoption of laws against piracy are inspired by and further ClosedSource objectives under the guise of copyright protection. This is particularly relevant since the arguments put forward to support ClosedSource efforts to manage users’ desktops are based on the presumed economic impact of piracy. Yet, it is generally accepted that economic growth in the modern period was brought forth by the rise and proliferation of Protestant sects and their intellectual vitality (Max Weber).
 
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