Thirty years ago, when Richard Stallman launched the GNU project, and during the three decades that followed, his sometimes extreme views and peculiar antics were ridiculed and disregarded as paranoia - but here we are, 2012, and his once paranoid what-ifs have become reality.

The reason that ACTA was negotiated in secret among rich countries was that this was seen as the most expeditious way of getting a super-extreme copyright agreement passed with a minimum of fuss, and that all the poor countries who were excluded from the negotiation would later be coerced into agreeing to it.

Given the mounds of evidence suggesting that over protection via such laws is damaging to the economy, this is immensely troubling, and once again shows how the USTR is making policy by ignoring data. This is scary.

An informative and entertaining series by the Software Freedom Law Center. Hosted by Bradley M. Kuhn and Karen Sandler. Has been running since November 2008. Available in .ogg and .mp3.

When we get to explain our views in the plenary, we are after all speaking to 200-300 diplomats and specialist policy makers from around the world. You don’t get many opportunities to explain to such a crowd why software patents are a bad idea, or why patents in software standards must be licensed royalty-free and without restrictions on their use.

The International Free and Open Source Software Law Review is seeking submissions for publication in 2010 and beyond. Potential contributors can review the author guidelines, download article templates in

Strange but true, usually the best of enemies it would seem that Microsoft and the Linux Foundation are in full agreement over something for a change. What is more, they are working together in order to find a solution as well.

On Tuesday, December 2, at 10 a.m., the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will challenge the constitutionality of a federal law aimed at granting immunity to telecommunications companies participating in illegal domestic surveillance.