[Osia-members] OSIA June/July update

Jack Burton jack at saosce.com.au
Thu Jul 26 23:54:45 AEST 2018


Evening, all.

End of financial year is a busy time for most of us, and your OSIA
directors are no exception! So please accept my apologies, on behalf of
the board, for not having put out a June update in June. As we're
almost at the end of July now, tonight's update will cover both months.

Since it covers two months, this update is packed with even more news
than usual, so please bear with me as you read through it!


** OSIA welcomes new director **

At its June meeting, the board resolved unanimously to appoint Mr Don
Lowe as a director of OSIA.

Mr Lowe has a long and illustrious history in the computing industry in
general and in the FLOSS sector specifically, having spent 20 years in
various roles at Sun Microsystems (plus another 5 years at Oracle
post-merger), before coming to his current role at SuSE Australia.

Based in Canberra (another first for the OSIA board!), he also knows
his way around Commonwealth agencies, having served as a corporate
representative to the public sector in many of those roles (including
his current one).

Some of you may also remember Don for his involvement in Sun's efforts
to have Java adopted as a formal Australian Standard in the late '90s.

Members of the board are very pleased to count Don Lowe amongst our
number now. Please join us in welcoming him.


** New OSIA public web site **

Earlier this week OSIA's new public web site went live at:
https://osia.com.au

Great credit is due to Mark Phillips, who both designed the new site
and managed the transition single-handedly, all while discharging his
regular duties as our chairman (and contributing significantly to a
range of other OSIA initiatives).

Please take a few minutes to check out the new site. We hope you'll be
pleasantly surprised!

Like all web sites, ours is always a work in progress -- so if you come
across any little bugs, please feel free to contribute patches either
on-list or directly to Mark (the new site is entirely static, so you
don't need any special access to do so).


** JSCOT inquiry into TPP-11 **

As mentioned in the last update, OSIA Chairman Mark Phillips and I
testified before a public hearing of the Joint Standing Committee on
Treaties' inquiry into TPP-11 on 1 June.

Since the last update, the transcript of that evidence has been
published, available here:
http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/commjnt/d2c78ab8-faba-43ec-be99-e37450126286/toc_pdf/Joint%20Standing%20Committee%20on%20Treaties_2018_06_01_6196.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf

Following the publication of the transcript, OSIA put out a press
release on 2 July regarding evidence before the hearing, "OSIA tells
TPP-11 backers to cut out the spin", available here:
https://osia.com.au/f/osia_cptpp_pr7.pdf


** Senate inquiry into CPTPP **

As mentioned in the last update, on 31 May OSIA lodged a submission to
the Senate Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs, Defence & Trade's
inquiry into CPTPP.

Since that update, the Senate Committee has cleared our submission for
publication and it is now available here:
https://osia.com.au/f/osia_sub_201805_sscfadt.pdf

Following approval for publication, OSIA issued a press release "CPTPP
could still destroy the Australian FOSS industry" on 12 June regarding
matters raised in our Senate submission, available here:
https://osia.com.au/f/osia_cptpp_pr6a.pdf
with accompanying infographic here:
http://osia.com.au/f/osia_cptpp_pr6a_g1.png

That particular submission & associated press release attracted quite a
bit of attention -- not just from the media but also from the
government itself, as a result of which OSIA Chairman Mark Phillips and
I were invited to meet with representatives from the both DCA & DFAT,
to explain in greater detail OSIA's specific concerns about the
potential impacts of TPP Art. 14.17 on the enforceability of FLOSS
licences in TPP-11 countries. We did so on 11 July.

The Senate Committee will also be holding a public hearing for its
inquiry, in Melbourne this coming Monday (30 July) at which I will
appear to give further evidence on behalf of OSIA.

Details for that hearing are available here:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/TPP-11/Public_Hearings


** DCA copyright modernisation consultation **

On 4 June, OSIA lodged a submission on the Department of Communications
& the Arts' copyright modernisation consultation paper. Our submission
is available here:
http://osia.com.au/f/osia_sub_201806_dca.pdf

On 14 June, we issued a press release "Fair use for everyone!" about
that submission, available here:
http://osia.com.au/f/osia_dca_pr1.pdf


** OSIA in the news **

OSIA has been mentioned in several more news articles since the last
update, for our various public policy activities:


"CPTPP could still destroy the Australian FOSS industry", Mirage
News, 12 June 2018[1].

"OSIA urges Senate Committee to ditch 'dud deal'", Aircargo
Asia-Pacific, 13 June 2018[2].

"OSIA supports copyright changes", Aircargo Asia-Pacific, 15 June
2018[3].

Bishton, Daniel, "CPTPP jeopardises the future of open source software:
OSIA", Spatial Source, 13 June 2018[4]. Also mentioned at [5] & [6].

Moody, Glyn, "Open Source Industry Australia says zombie TPP could
destroy free software licensing", TechDirt, 18 June 2018[7]. Also
mentioned at [8], [9], [10], [11], [12] & [13].

"OSIA tells TPP-11 backers to cut out the spin", Mirage News, 2 July
2018[14].

In addition, there was also this little piece, written by yours truly
at the invitation of one of the LJ editors (thanks to Cameron Shorter
for bringing OSIA's work to LJ's attention in the first place):

Burton, Jack, "Copyleft Terms May Become Unenforceable in 11 Countries
under CPTPP", Linux Journal, 13 June 2018[15]. Also mentioned in far too
many places to list here...


** Thankyou to IAG Satellite **

The board would like to extend a big thankyou to IAG (Insurance
Australian Group) Satellite, for generously providing us, gratis, with
a venue in Sydney's inner suburbs for our June board meeting.

It's not easy to find a suitable venue in inner Sydney on a weekend and
we're most grateful to IAG Satellite for their hospitality.


** Heads-up: member services **

Some exciting announcements regarding member services initiatives are
just around the corner. Stay tuned for details -- you'll hear more from
OSIA Directors Alexar Pendashteh or Mark Phillips in due course.


** Heads-up: membership renewal invoices coming soon **

Membership renewal invoices will be issued during the first week of
August (next week!) and will be payable on 30 days terms.

Please keep an eye out for yours and pay it promptly. OSIA relies on
your financial support to make possible all the things we do for our
industry, such as those described elsewhere in the update and more.

If you were a financial member in FY2017/18 (meaning *either* you last
paid in FY2016/17 *or* you paid for the first time in FY2017/18), or if
you were a financial member in FY2015/16 but forgot to renew in
FY2016/17, you will be sent a membership renewal invoice automatically
(unless you've explicitly resigned since then, or have previously asked
us not to invoice this year).

If you don't fall into any of those categories (no need to check --
you'll know you don't if you don't receive an invoice in the first week
of August), please consider becoming financial again or joining OSIA
for the first time, as the case may be. To do so at any time, just
contact me off-list.


** 2018 AGM: save the date **

OSIA's 2018 AGM will be held on 30 November.

To mark the significance of OSIA's second re-emergence as a significant
industry voice in Australia, the board has decided to hold this year's
AGM in our nation's capital, Canberra.

Details of the exact venue & timing will be forthcoming closer to the
date, as will the usual annual report, call for nominations, formal
notice of meeting, etc.. In the meantime, please mark the date down in
your diaries.

I and my colleagues on the board look forward to catching up with many
of our members, long-standing & brand-new alike, at the AGM in
Canberra.

Please note that, in accordance with OSIA's Constitution, AGM packs
will be sent out to financial members by post (in addition to a copy
being posted to osia-fin@). So if you have moved office (or postal
address) recently, please take this opportunity to send me your new
address (off-list please), so I can update your details in our records
before the mail out.


** Board meetings **

The board met in Pyrmont NSW on 17 June, then again by teleconference on
16 July.

As noted previously, the board will meet once each month for the rest
of the year, with two out of every 3 board meetings being held in
person. 

The schedule of board & general meetings for the remainder of 2018 is:

Sat 11 Aug Ballarat, Vic.
Sat 09 Sep Campbelltown, SA
Mon 08 Oct teleconference
Sat 03 Nov Melbourne, Vic.
Fri 30 Nov (evening) 2018 AGM (Canberra, ACT)
Sat 01 Dec board strategic planning day (Canberra, ACT)
Sun 02 Dec first board meeting of new term (Canberra, ACT)

We are making these dates public well ahead of time so that any members
who want to may meet informally with OSIA's directors around the the
dates listed in the towns listed. To do so, just contact either Mark
Phillips or me off-list well in advance of the meeting.

In the meantime, as always OSIA members are encouraged to bring any
pertinent matters (and indeed your views on them) to the attention of
the board, either on this list or by contacting any of us directly. The
OSIA email addresses of all board members are available here:
https://osia.com.au/about.html



References for the "OSIA in the news" item:

[1]
https://www.miragenews.com/cptpp-could-still-destroy-the-australian-foss-industry/

[2]
http://www.impactpub.com.au/aircargo/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15610:osia-urges-senate-committee-to-ditch-dud-deal&catid=85&Itemid=435

[3]
http://www.impactpub.com.au/aircargo/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15616:osia-supports-copyright-changes&catid=85&Itemid=435

[4]
https://www.spatialsource.com.au/gis-data/cptpp-jeopardises-the-future-of-open-source-software-osia

[5] https://opensource.com/article/18/6/news-june-23

[6] https://redtowers.org/

[7]
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20180615/09090440050/open-source-industry-australia-says-zombie-tpp-could-destroy-free-software-licensing.shtml

[8] http://www.tuxmachines.org/node/112753

[9] https://gab.ai/tuxmachines/posts/27787087

[10] https://joindiaspora.com/p/12010513

[11]
http://www.bizdailies.com/News/BusinessFinancial/Open-Source-Industry-Australia-Says-Zombie-TPP-Could-Destroy-Free-Software-Licensing-6059124

[12] http://aftinet.org.au/cms/node/1594

[13]
http://www.canada-nz.org.nz/open-source-industry-australia-says-zombie-tpp-could-destroy-free-software-licensing-techdirt/

[14]
https://www.miragenews.com/osia-tells-tpp-11-backers-to-cut-out-the-spin/

[15]
https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/copyleft-terms-may-become-unenforceable-11-countries-under-cptpp





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