[Fsf-friends] Re: [Fwd: [Ilugc] Adelphi Charter]

[Richard M. Stallman]

Here are some comments on the Adelphi Charter, which I hope to work
into an article.  Please don't spread this draft around--please let me
finish it.


The Adelphi charter opposes the worst abuses of copyright and patent
law, but does not seem to take a position about the freedom to share,
or the freedom to change software.  So it is only partial opposition
to those abuses.

The rules proposed in article 9 for judging proposed exclusive rights
extensions are not bad rules (though one vital rule is missing:
respect social solidarity and everyone's right to control the tools
they use).  However, recommending these rules won't necessarily change
the situation much, because governments typically give them lip
service already.  The hard part is making governments apply these
rules sincerely, rather than just pretend to do so.

Another unfortunate thing about the charter is its use of the term
"intellectual property".  That term is propaganda for those that the
charter opposes; by using it, it works against its own aims.

Closer to home, I was hurt (though not surprised) to see that it
refers to "open source" but not "free software".  This is presented as
an alternative "model", the way the open source movement presents it,
rather than as a matter of respecting the users' rights.

The charter could well have a positive effect, because even such
limited opposition to restrictive laws is more opposition than there
was before.  But we should support stronger and clearer forms of
opposition.