Trade Practices Issues of Infringing Open Source Software

Presenter(s): Brendan Scott
URL: http://2011.linux.conf.au/prog....ramme/schedule/view_

In 2010 year I have worked on a research project under a Linux Australia grant looking into what issues arise under the Trade Practices Act where a person sells infringing copies of open source software.

One of the main findings of that research was that a vendor selling an infringing copy of open source software is likely to be in breach of at least one section of Part V the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) relating to misleading or deceptive statements or conduct, and likely more than one.

There are many cases in which such breaches have been found in relation to infringing copies of software. Even where a vendor only offers to sell (as opposed to actually selling) an infringing copy they are still likely to be in breach of the Act. In this talk we will explain the project's findings and explain the reasoning involved.


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