It is therefore appropriate that The Hague has been chosen to witness yet another pronouncement in defense of human rights. That pronouncement has been titled The Hague Declaration by the new international group, called the Digital Standards Organization ("Digistan," for short), that crafted it.

"Intellectual freedom is a human right, as defined by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. [...] These entities include, among others [...] the Free Software Movement."

"...We, therefore, the computer users of the world solemnly publish and declare that all computer users ought to be free and independent of proprietary software; that they are absolved from all allegiances to, and all political and social connection to, proprietary software, and claim all rights digital freedom provides.

In arresting, trying, and sentencing Hoang, the Vietnamese government has criminalized free expression as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and guaranteed by articles 35, 50, 53 and 69 of the Vietnamese Constitution.

"ACTA, a treaty designed to attack the rights of computer users in some 40-odd countries -- and others later -- is encountering increasing opposition. ACTA threatens, in a disguised way, to punish Internet users with disconnection if they are accused of sharing, and requires countries to prohibit software that can break Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), also known as digital handcuffs.."

At this week's Digital Music Forum, lawyers managing digital rights for Microsoft's Zune music download site and RealNetworks' Rhapsody said that they too believe digital rights management to be more of a headache than an asset.

On Wednesday, I introduced The Hague Declaration to those that visit this blog, promising to write again shortly to introduce the new organization that created the Declaration. That organization is called the Digital Standards Organization (Digistan, for short), and I'm pleased to say that I am one of its founders.

Geospatial Digital Rights Mangement Reference Model (GeoDRM RM)

In March, 2007 the Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC®) membership approved the Geospatial Digital Rights Management Reference Model (GeoDRM RM), an abstract specification for the management of digital rights in the area of geospatial data and services.

Last summer, the BBC tried to sneak "digital rights management" into its high-def digital broadcasts. How can free/open source software co-exist with a plan to put DRM on broadcasts?