The TPP E-Commerce chapter has a provision banning requirements to transfer or provide access to software source code. This applies to "mass market software."
Article 14.17: Source Code
1. No Party shall require the transfer of, or access to, source code of software owned by a person of another Party, as a condition for the import, distribution, sale or use of such software, or of products containing such software, in its territory.
2. For the purposes of this Article, software subject to paragraph 1 is limited to mass-market software or products containing such software and does not include software used for critical infrastructure.
3. Nothing in this Article shall preclude:
(a) the inclusion or implementation of terms and conditions related to the provision of source code in commercially negotiated contracts; or
(b) a Party from requiring the modification of source code of software necessary for that software to comply with laws or regulations which are not inconsistent with this Agreement.
4. This Article shall not be construed to affect requirements that relate to patent applications or granted patents, including any orders made by a judicial authority in relation to patent disputes, subject to safeguards against unauthorised disclosure under the law or practice of a Party.I'm wondering how the GPL fares here, and how much money Microsoft spent lobbying to get this included in the TPP, or if the NSA has a role in this. One aspect of this provision is that governments cannot insist on source code transparency, for mass market software, even to address concerns over security or interoperability.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 07 2015, @10:40AM
and...?
oxymoron much, or maybe just plain moron
(Score: 2) by fido_dogstoyevsky on Saturday November 07 2015, @12:05PM
You don't need to distribute (or offer to distribute) the source code if you use GPL software; you do need to distribute (or offer to distribute) the source code if you distribute GPL software as binary files.
and...?
That's how you comply with the GPL.
anti-competitive bullshit from capitalist
oxymoron much, or maybe just plain moron
Neither, it's more of a tautology.
It's NOT a conspiracy... it's a plot.
(Score: 2) by cykros on Saturday November 07 2015, @02:23PM
And...this is the issue with the word capitalist. Some use it to mean laissez-faire, unregulated market places, while others use it to refer to those who hold capital controlling the marketplace by whatever means they have at their disposal, thanks to their possession of capital.
It shocks me how little this point is brought up, but hopefully it clarifies matters when folks on the left and right are sounding senseless to each other when talking about capitalism. They're usually not actually talking about the same thing in the first place.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 07 2015, @03:11PM
Capitalism has nothing to do with markets in any way or form. Capitalism refers to private ownership of the means of production, and literally nothing else.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Sunday November 08 2015, @03:40AM
Look up Yuri Bezmenov's talks on YouTube. Former KGB agent. Very enlightening.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.