[Fsfe-uk] culture.gov.uk discussion forum

[MJ Ray]

Since about a year ago, the UK government's approach to software
development has been part of a "Creative Industries" topic. This
effort is shared between the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) and the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS).

Today (Thursday 16 June), a discussion forum was announced
by the minister for creative industries.  You can read
Rufus Pollock's event report and follow links from
http://www.okfn.org/drn/node/58

It is important that free software supporters and developers get
involved in the discussion. The "Creative Industries IP Forum"
- which is being invited to advise the government - is almost
entirely protectionist. Several members campaign for increased
copyright and Digital Restriction Management (DRM). Civil
society seems only represented by the Consumer Association,
which itself makes a lot of money from publishing copyrighted
magazines (the "Which?" series), if I remember correctly.

The panel at today's event was mainly protectionist (rather
than the more permissive approach of free software) but Rufus
wrote to the creative-friends list:
> The main item is good news: [copyright] term extensions were *not*
> mentioned at all and don't seem to be on the agenda for /the present/.

Please pass this report on and encourage people to tell the
government about the importance of a permissive approach to
the UK's culture, whether by encouraging native companies
(instead of UK arms of internationals), helping to preserve
our native languages, or any of the other benefits.
Register for the discussion on the DCMS site as detailed on
http://www.culture.gov.uk/creative_industries/discussionforum.htm


-- 
MJ Ray (slef), K. Lynn, England, email see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/