I've mentioned earlier our attendee from Europe's Free Software Foundation. I'm not naming him as he was an attendee not a panelist, but we were happy to have him as he enriched the debate, and was in no way strident or disruptive, despite finding much with which to disagree. He knew the debate well, and was quick with a response to any argument made. However, my colleague Jim DeLong did seem to bring him up short at one point late in the day.

Throughout the day our FSF friend had been crusading against software patents. Naturally, he was also disdainful of proprietary software. In a late session, responding to an argument that proprietary software makers were pressing for more and more patents, Jim said if true that was only to be expected. "The pressure of the open source movement is pushing proprietary software to open up," Jim said. "That makes them [proprietary software makers] turn all the more to patent protection." After the session, our visitor from the FSF approached Jim and congratulated him on making an argument our FSF friend hadn't heard before.

posted by Patrick Ross @ 7:15 AM | Digital Europe

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