When using open source makes you an enemy of the state

[kerryhall]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/feb/23/opensource-intellectual-property

I would be interested to know other people's opinions about this article. I have a feeling that it is just FUD, but a little unsettling nonetheless.

[jdrodrig]

Just a couple of thoughts.

1) Being pro-open source is no excuse to take a propietary code, "break it" and make it open from that moment on. My impression is that the article is mentioning such possibility as a potential thread to property rights of previously closed source code.

The existence of open source codes, does not invalidate property rights contracts of developers that chose the propietary route.

2) The article touches the point of whether we should embark in "affirmate action" where we sould bias support (eg Gov't subsidies) towards open source projects discrimating against propietary projects.

I personally do not think that such strategy is sustainable or even coherent within the choice and freedom speech of open source.

However, a valid point to be evaluated is whether open source projects actually generate positive externalities or spillovers where the social benefit of such projects is larger than the private benefit and therefore some sort of subsidy could be justified.

The trick I think is to really attempt to measure such social benefits; if the rents (maybe not from selling the software but from providing tech support -eg Canonical) gets concentrated in a few hands and the overall contribution of the code to society is limited then, subsidies could be not a good idea.