Countries involved in ACTA negotiations have unanimously decided to release the text of ACTA for public scrutiny. This news comes after over eight thousand people signed a petition in support of the Wellington Declaration, a document developed at PublicACTA, a public conference to discuss the implications of ACTA held in Wellington last week. [Update]: ACTA Text now attached to this article.

Several organisations have weighed into the software patent debate. Intergen, who proclaim to be leaders in the application of Microsoft technology, have supported software patents. They join NZICT, an organisation ironically dominated by multinational companies. Ian McCrae of Orion Health, the biggest software exporter in New Zealand has supported the exclusion of software patents joining the 80% of members polled by the New Zealand Computer Society.

Paul Matthews, CEO of the NZCS, sent an email to the NZOSS "open chat" list outlining the his position with regards to software patents. Paul has kindly given us permission to reproduce that email below:

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In regards to Software Patents, I would like to first say that we believe that everyone has a fundamental right to protect their own property, and consequently support the *concept* of Copyright and Intellectual Property.

...at least it's more honest.

Today, in Wellington, the representatives of a regime that promised a new era of "Hope" and "Change" are brow beating the rest of the world into submission. So, it's business as usual. The bastardised version of the Munroe Doctrine is yet again being used to further the very narrow goals of self interested, US based, lobbies.

Over the weekend PublicACTA has released the Wellington Declaration and asked people who interested in protecting their digital rights to sign the petition to endorse the Wellington Declaration.

It is unusual for one NGO to criticise another in public, particularly when they are involved in the same sector. Divisions can be harmful. However, when the NZICT chooses alchemy over science it really is time to call a spade a spade.

NZICT is an organisation formed by large multinationals which makes the following claims:

Law firms that supported continued software patents have published critiques of the arguments put forward by those who opposed software patents and asked for an exclusion to be added to the Patent Bill. In this article Peter Harrison, vice President of the NZOSS responds.

InternetNZ has has strongly opposed the signing of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) by New Zealand in a submission to the Ministry of Economic Development, suggesting that the whole digital enforcement framework be removed from ACTA.

The New Zealand Open Source Society has made a submission on ACTA to the Ministry of Economic Development. The submission explores the relationship between legislation of the United States passed in 1998 called the DMCA with provisions in the Copyright Amendment Act 2008 and the leaked provisions in ACTA. The NZOSS does not wish to see a regime where citizens will be disconnected from the Internet based only on notices from rights holders, but rather maintain a position where proper judicial oversight and process will be maintained. Video here.

When the original draft of the Patent Bill was released there were no exceptions for computer software. Naturally the NZOSS weighed in and submitted it's point of view. Today our position has been vindicated by the release by the Commerce Commission report supporting an exception for computer programs in the Patent Bill. The New Zealand Open Source Society applauds the Commerce Commission on it's decision to exclude computer programs from being patentable in New Zealand.