[EM] Re: voting machines

Rob Brown rob at karmatics.com
Wed Sep 1 17:06:04 PDT 2004


Dave Ketchum <davek <at> clarityconnect.com> writes:

> Agreed BUT:
> 
> If someone writes usable code, AND makes it public, what stops someone 
> else copying the code without paying those who did the work?

One thing that would work is that the federal government contracts that the 
code be written, pays the contractor, and then the government releases it into 
the public domain (or GPL or whatever).  The government got what it wanted, 
the contractor got paid, and if some other country wants to use the code for 
their own system, so be it, it is in our interest that our democratic 
processes be copied elsewhere.

-rob




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