-adopters of free and open source software. The terms of that license are
-no doubt different from the terms of a proprietary software license.
-Free software licensed under the General Public License (GPL), for
-example, requires that the source code for the software be made
- available
-by anyone who modifies and redistributes the software. But that
-requirement is effective only if copyright governs software. If copyright
-did not govern software, then free software could not impose the same
-kind of requirements on its adopters. It thus depends upon copyright
-law just as Microsoft does.
-</para>
-<para>
-It is therefore understandable that as a proprietary software
- developer,
-Microsoft would oppose this WIPO meeting, and
- understandable
-that it would use its lobbyists to get the United States government
-to oppose it, as well. And indeed, that is just what was reported to have
-happened. According to Jonathan Krim of the Washington Post,
- Microsoft's
-lobbyists succeeded in getting the United States government
-to veto the meeting.<footnote><para>
-<!-- f9. --> Krim, "The Quiet War over Open-Source," available at
-<ulink url="http://free-culture.cc/notes/">link #64</ulink>.
-</para></footnote>
- And without U.S. backing, the meeting was
- canceled.
-</para>
-<para>
-I don't blame Microsoft for doing what it can to advance its own
- interests,
-consistent with the law. And lobbying governments is plainly
-consistent with the law. There was nothing surprising about its
- lobbying
-here, and nothing terribly surprising about the most powerful
- software
-producer in the United States having succeeded in its lobbying
-efforts.
+adopters of free and open source software. The terms of that license
+are no doubt different from the terms of a proprietary software
+license. Free software licensed under the General Public License
+(GPL), for example, requires that the source code for the software be
+made available by anyone who modifies and redistributes the
+software. But that requirement is effective only if copyright governs
+software. If copyright did not govern software, then free software
+could not impose the same kind of requirements on its adopters. It
+thus depends upon copyright law just as Microsoft does.
+</para>
+<para>
+It is therefore understandable that as a proprietary software
+developer, Microsoft would oppose this WIPO meeting, and
+understandable that it would use its lobbyists to get the United
+States government to oppose it, as well. And indeed, that is just what
+was reported to have happened. According to Jonathan Krim of the
+Washington Post, Microsoft's lobbyists succeeded in getting the United
+States government to veto the meeting.<footnote><para>
+<!-- f9. -->
+Krim, "The Quiet War over Open-Source," available at <ulink
+url="http://free-culture.cc/notes/">link #64</ulink>.
+</para></footnote>
+And without U.S. backing, the meeting was canceled.
+</para>
+<para>
+I don't blame Microsoft for doing what it can to advance its own
+interests, consistent with the law. And lobbying governments is
+plainly consistent with the law. There was nothing surprising about
+its lobbying here, and nothing terribly surprising about the most
+powerful software producer in the United States having succeeded in
+its lobbying efforts.