Fwd: Canadian Software Innovation Alliance --an invitation from CIPPIC, EFF, and Bob Young

[Michael Lenczner]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gabe Sawhney <[hidden email]>
Date: Nov 30, 2005 11:46 PM
Subject: Fwd: Canadian Software Innovation Alliance --an invitation
from CIPPIC, EFF, and Bob Young
To: Michael Lenczner <[hidden email]>


Damien is an acquaintance, and one of the founders of Wireless Nomad
-- he just moved to Ottawa to take a temporary position at CIPPIC.
Besides that you may be interested in this initiative, he (or someone
at CIPPIC, anyway) might be interested in the civic data stuff.

 Gabe


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Damien Fox <[hidden email]>
Date: Nov 30, 2005 6:59 PM
Subject: Canadian Software Innovation Alliance --an invitation from
CIPPIC, EFF, and Bob Young
To: Damien Fox <[hidden email]>, David Fewer < [hidden email]>

Re: Canadian Software Innovation Alliance --an invitation from
CIPPIC, EFF, and Bob Young

Good Afternoon!

Canada's open-source professionals and open-source advocates are
coming together to make sure Canada's copyright law continues to
support creativity and encourage innovation.  Content industry
lobbyists are calling for new controls that threaten important
activities such as the right to reverse engineer, the right to create
interoperable software and the right to conduct security research.
These rights are crucial to software innovators and need to be
guaranteed.

The government has fallen, but the draft copyright legislation has
already been written, the process that created it is still in place,
and the interest groups pushing for stronger copyright laws continue
to demand more control. Bill C-60 proposed to grant copyright owners
control over those who would circumvent technological protection
measures (TPMs) for the purpose of infringing copyright.  While there
was much in Bill C-60 to oppose, Bill C-60 supported the rights of
open source innovators by continuing to permit reverse engineering,
inter-operability and security research. Opponents of Bill C-60 say
that it did not do enough, and that Canada needs to import the
American Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  Open source innovators
need to support Bill C-60's support of open source innovators.

Individual professors, lone companies, solitary consultants and local
user groups all understand the reality of how TPMs work and the anti-
competitive effects of strong anti-circumvention laws. Alone, these
stakeholders face challenges getting their message to elected
politicians and policy makers.  These stakeholders need to come
together to speak with a stronger voice.

The Canadian Software Innovation Alliance has been started by Bob
Young, co-founder of Red Hat, to help provide that voice.  With your
support, the CSIA can make sure that Canada remains fertile ground
for open source development, that the Canadian open source community
continues to thrive, that and Canada's computing and communications
resources are as accessible and secure as possible.

Over the next few days, the Canadian Software Innovation Alliance
will begin adding members to the coalition.  Several companies and
organizations have already signed up: if you think your company,
institution or organization has an interest in making sure open
source software remains a powerful and effective tool, get in touch
with us to find out more or to join the CSIA.  Joining the CSIA is
voluntary, does not cost any money, and does not require much of a
time commitment, unless you choose to help with the activities of the
organization.

We are hard at work preparing a web site and draft White Paper.  Once
they are available, we will send around a further e-mail to provide
additional contact information and the web site address.  In the
meantime, please distribute this e-mail to anyone you think might be
interested in joining the coalition, might know others that are
interested in joining the coalition, or might like to help the CSIA,
but not join.

The CSIA is being formed to promote the interests of Canada's open-
source community and to encourage innovation and competition.  Bob
Young from Red Hat is the lead spokesperson for the organization.
The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC), the
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Online Rights Canada (ORC)
are working together to get the CSIA started and to help Canada's
open-source community come together.  Neither CIPPIC, EFF nor ORC
will be a member of the CSIA, nor have any authority over the
positions, statements or membership of the CSIA.

Sincerely,
Damien Fox


*****No additional e-mails will be sent to anyone on this list. No
names or contact
information from this list will be added to any web site or
organization.  You
received this e-mail because I thought you would be interested in the
objectives of
the CSIA and might be interested in joining the organization. *****

Damien Fox,
Copyright Outreach Coordinator, CIPPIC
[hidden email]
416-707-2204

Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic
University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law
57 Louis Pasteur St.
Ottawa, Ontario  K1N 6N5
http://www.cippic.ca