New Zealand Open Source Society

Last updated
New Zealand Open Source Society
New Zealand Open Source Society logo.png
Formation2003
FounderPeter Harrison
Type NGO
PurposePromotion of free and open-source software
Location
President
Dave Lane
Website www.nzoss.org.nz
Dave Lane, current President of the New Zealand Open Source Society Dave Lane crop.jpg
Dave Lane, current President of the New Zealand Open Source Society

The New Zealand Open Source Society is an incorporated society supporting the advocacy and promotion of open-source software in New Zealand.

In New Zealand an incorporated society is a group of at least 15 people who have applied for registration under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908.

Advocacy is an activity by an individual or group that aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions. Advocacy can include many activities that a person or organization undertakes including media campaigns, public speaking, commissioning and publishing research or conducting exit poll or the filing of an amicus brief. Lobbying is a form of advocacy where a direct approach is made to legislators on a specific issue or specific piece of legislation. Research has started to address how advocacy groups in the United States and Canada are using social media to facilitate civic engagement and collective action.

Open-source software software licensed to ensure source code usage rights

Open-source software (OSS) is a type of computer software in which source code is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to study, change, and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose. Open-source software may be developed in a collaborative public manner. Open-source software is a prominent example of open collaboration.

Contents

History

Formation

Don Christie, former President of the Society, in 2009 Don Christie (5189143128).jpg
Don Christie, former President of the Society, in 2009

NZOSS was formed in February 2003, after David Lane wrote an open letter suggesting the use of open source software in Government in 2002, [1] co-signed by over four hundred New Zealanders. [2]

Peter Harrison then suggested that a national organisation be formed to promote and advocate use of open-source software, via the New Zealand Linux Users Group. [3] This led to several meetings throughout New Zealand in 2002 and 2003, and finally resulted in the NZOSS being formed as a formal incorporated society on 27 February 2003. Since this time the NZOSS has been involved with various efforts to promote open source in government, including participation with the Ministry of Economic Development's Authentication Project, and later a report on the State Services Commission guidelines on the legal issues of open-source software.

Ministry of Economic Development (New Zealand)

The Ministry of Economic Development was a New Zealand public sector organisation tasked with promoting development of New Zealand's economy. Known as the Ministry of Commerce until 2000, it was renamed in 2000 under the Fifth Labour Government, then replaced with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on 1 July 2012 by the subsequent National Government.

State Services Commission New Zealand government department

The State Services Commission (SSC) is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing, managing, and improving the performance of the State sector of New Zealand and its organisations.

Current operation

The society has an active mailing list known as 'OpenChat', which is open to participation from anyone with an interest in free/open source software (F/OSS) and the business of the Society. [4] Membership of the society is required for voting rights, and helps sustain the Society, but is not required in order to be active in NZOSS discussions and activities. [5]

Campaigns

Patent action

In 2005 the NZOSS formally objected to a New Zealand Patent 525484, a patent for "Word-processing document stored in a single XML file that may be manipulated by applications that understand XML". The opposition was based on evidence cited by the United States Patent and Trademark Office who rejected the patent in the United States. The NZOSS withdrew their opposition in August 2006 as a consequence of Microsoft significantly amending the patent such that Abiword would no longer constitute prior use or prior publication.[ citation needed ]

XML Markup language developed by the W3C for encoding of data

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language that defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. The W3C's XML 1.0 Specification and several other related specifications—all of them free open standards—define XML.

Microsoft U.S.-headquartered technology company

Microsoft Corporation (MS) is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond, Washington. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services. Its best known software products are the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite, and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers. Its flagship hardware products are the Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers. As of 2016, it is the world's largest software maker by revenue, and one of the world's most valuable companies. The word "Microsoft" is a portmanteau of "microcomputer" and "software". Microsoft is ranked No. 30 in the 2018 Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

In 2009 the NZOSS made a submission to the Commerce Select Committee considering the Patent Bill before Parliament. [6] The submission proposed that software be excluded from being patentable. The Commerce Select Committee agreed with the submission, [7] excluding software from patents. Minister Simon Power has publicly stated that he supports the decision of the Commerce Select Committee. [8]

During 2008 and 2009 the NZOSS and its members were vocal in their opposition to the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), and in proposed changes to New Zealand copyright law (notably Section 92A of the Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Act 2008. NZOSS have spoken with Members of Parliament and made submissions to the select committee involved. [9]

Use of free and open-source software in Government

In August 2009 the Society announced the launch of the Public Sector Remix project to demonstrate the viability of free open-source software on public sector desktops. A number of central, regional and local government agencies worked together with the Society to run trials using free software for common desktop tasks. [10] [11]

New Zealand Open Source Awards

The 2014 New Zealand Open Source Awards, held at Te Papa in Wellington NZOSA impressions (8) (15770166771).jpg
The 2014 New Zealand Open Source Awards, held at Te Papa in Wellington

The inaugural New Zealand Open Source Awards were held in 2007, with the Society involved in both organisation and sponsorship. These awards now run bi-annually and serve to showcase the contributions of New Zealanders directly to open-source projects or the promotion of open source generally, as well as exemplary use of open source by New Zealand organisations. The Awards help to raise awareness of the open-source advantage for New Zealand by telling some powerful success stories based on real achievements.[ citation needed ]

The awards were also held in 2008, [12] 2010, [13] and 2012. [14] The most recent awards were held at Te Papa Tongarewa on 12 November 2014. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

MIT License any of several permissive free software licenses originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The MIT License is a permissive free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). As a permissive license, it puts only very limited restriction on reuse and has, therefore, an excellent license compatibility. The MIT license permits reuse within proprietary software provided that all copies of the licensed software include a copy of the MIT License terms and the copyright notice. The MIT license is also compatible with many copyleft licenses, such as the GNU General Public License (GPL); MIT licensed software can be integrated into GPL software, but not the other way around.

Open content creative work that others can copy or modify

Open content is a neologism coined by David Wiley in 1998 which describes a creative work that others can copy or modify freely, without asking for permission. The term evokes the related concept of open-source software. Such content is said to be under an open licence.

Apache License any of a set of free software licenses developed by the organization

The Apache License is a permissive free software license written by the Apache Software Foundation (ASF). The Apache License, Version 2.0 requires preservation of the copyright notice and disclaimer. Like other free software licenses, the license allows the user of the software the freedom to use the software for any purpose, to distribute it, to modify it, and to distribute modified versions of the software, under the terms of the license, without concern for royalties. This makes the Apache License a FRAND-RF license. The ASF and its projects release the software they produce under the Apache License. The license is also used by many non-ASF projects.

The Academic Free License (AFL) is a permissive free software license written in 2002 by Lawrence E. Rosen, a former general counsel of the Open Source Initiative (OSI).

The Open Software License (OSL) is a software license created by Lawrence Rosen. The Open Source Initiative (OSI) has certified it as an open-source license, but the Debian project judged version 1.1 to be incompatible with the DFSG. The OSL is a copyleft license, with a termination clause triggered by filing a lawsuit alleging patent infringement.

Creative Commons license license allowing free use of a work

A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work". A CC license is used when an author wants to give other people the right to share, use, and build upon a work that he or she has created. CC provides an author flexibility and protects the people who use or redistribute an author's work from concerns of copyright infringement as long as they abide by the conditions that are specified in the license by which the author distributes the work.

FSF Free Software Awards one of the two awards awarded by the Free Software Foundation (along with Q25400485)

Free Software Foundation (FSF) grants two annual awards. Since 1998, FSF has granted the award for Advancement of Free Software and since 2005, also the Free Software Award for Projects of Social Benefit.

Commercial software, or seldom payware, is a computer software that is produced for sale or that serves commercial purposes. Commercial software can be proprietary software or free and open-source software.

Free and open-source software software that is both free and open-source

Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software that can be classified as both free software and open-source software. That is, anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and the source code is openly shared so that people are encouraged to voluntarily improve the design of the software. This is in contrast to proprietary software, where the software is under restrictive copyright licensing and the source code is usually hidden from the users.

Remix culture a society that allows and encourages derivative works by combining or editing existing materials to produce a new product

Remix culture, sometimes read-write culture, is a society that allows and encourages derivative works by combining or editing existing materials to produce a new creative work or product. A remix culture would be, by default, permissive of efforts to improve upon, change, integrate, or otherwise remix the work of copyright holders. While a common practice of artists of all domains throughout human history, the growth of exclusive copyright restrictions in the last several decades limits this practice more and more by the legal chilling effect. In reaction, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig who considers remixing a desirable concept for human creativity, has worked since the early 2000s on a transfer of the remixing concept into the digital age. Lessig founded the Creative Commons in 2001 which released Licenses as tools to enable remix culture again, as remixing is legally prevented by the default exclusive copyright regime applied currently on intellectual property. The remix culture for cultural works is related to and inspired by the earlier Free and open-source software for software movement, which encourages the reuse and remixing of software works.

Free-culture movement social movement promoting free content

The free-culture movement is a social movement that promotes the freedom to distribute and modify the creative works of others in the form of free content or open content without compensation to, or the consent of, the work's original creators, by using the Internet and other forms of media.

Richard Stallman American software freedom activist, short story writer and computer programmer, founder of the GNU project

Richard Matthew Stallman, often known by his initials, RMS, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in a manner such that its users receive the freedoms to use, study, distribute and modify that software. Software that ensures these freedoms is termed free software. Stallman launched the GNU Project, founded the Free Software Foundation, developed the GNU Compiler Collection and GNU Emacs, and wrote the GNU General Public License.

WTFPL License for permissive use of intellectual property rights

WTFPL is a GPL-compatible permissive license most commonly used as a free software license. As a public domain like license, the WTFPL is essentially the same as dedication to the public domain. It allows redistribution and modification of the work under any terms. The title is an abbreviation of "Do what the fuck you want to Public License".

Opposition to software patents is widespread in the free software community. In response, various mechanisms have been tried to defuse the perceived problem.

Free content work or artwork with few or no restrictions on how it may be used

Free content, libre content, or free information, is any kind of functional work, work of art, or other creative content that meets the definition of a free cultural work.

<i>Jacobsen v. Katzer</i>

Jacobsen v. Katzer was a lawsuit between Robert Jacobsen (plaintiff) and Matthew Katzer (defendant), filed March 13, 2006 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The case addressed claims on copyright, patent invalidity, cybersquatting, and Digital Millennium Copyright Act issues arising from Jacobsen under an open source license developing control software for model trains.

Copyleft the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work

Copyleft, distinguished from copyright, is the practice of offering people the right to freely distribute copies and modified versions of a work with the stipulation that the same rights be preserved in derivative works created later. Copyleft software licenses are considered protective or reciprocal, as contrasted with permissive free-software licenses.

Proprietary software, also known as "closed-source software", is a non-free computer software for which the software's publisher or another person retains intellectual property rights—usually copyright of the source code, but sometimes patent rights.

Brian Fitzgerald (academic) Australian legal sholar

Brian Fitzgerald is an Australian legal academic and barrister. He is an intellectual property and information technology/internet lawyer who has pioneered the teaching of internet/cyber law in Australia. Fitzgerald was a specialist research professor at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) until February 2012, when he became the inaugural Executive Dean of Law at the Australian Catholic University's Faculty of Law and Business.

<i>RiP!: A Remix Manifesto</i> 2008 film by Brett Gaylor

RiP!: A Remix Manifesto is a 2008 open-source documentary film about "the changing concept of copyright" directed by Brett Gaylor.

References

  1. ↑ Lane, David (February 2003). "Open Letter: Open standards and open source software are the way forward for NZ Information Technology". Archived from the original on March 21, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Open letter:co-signers". Archived from the original on March 21, 2008.
  3. ↑ Harrison, Peter (1 Apr 2002). "Open Source Society Idea". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "The NZOSS Mailing Lists". NZOSS.
  5. ↑ "about NZOSS". NZOSS.
  6. ↑ "Submission on Patents Bill - Government Bill 235-1: To the Commerce Committee" (PDF). 30 June 2009.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-21. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-21. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
  9. ↑ Christie, Don (9 October 2008). "Copyright Act – Simply Wrong". NZOSS.
  10. ↑ Christie, Don (26 August 2009). "Public Sector Remix Project Launch". NZOSS.
  11. ↑ "NZOSS launches the Public Sector Remix Project". 1 September 2009.
  12. ↑ "Previous Finalists and Winners". Archived from the original on 2010-11-24. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  13. ↑ "Open source awards celebrate acceptance in mainstream IT". 2010-11-10. Archived from the original on 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  14. ↑ "Open Source Awards compared, contrasted with US thinking". 2012-11-10. Archived from the original on 2012-11-10. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
  15. ↑ "New Zealand Open Source Awards" . Retrieved 14 October 2014.
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