Alternativa

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French offshoot of http://www.alternativa.se/

Why we need equity-based open licenses

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Quoted from P2P foundation blog

Open licenses leave something important out, nl. equity in the economic process, argues Patrick Godeau.

The excerpt is part of an ongoing discussion which you find here, and Patrick’s own proposal is called the IANG License.

Excerpt:

“The IANG approach is somehow to apply the copyleft principle to economy. That is to say, economic contributions can be given, but not taken away. To guarantee this, all economic contributors should not only have access to accounting, but also have control of it, just like free software contributors can not only access the source code, but also change it. So if a capitalist
company wants to sell ecopyleft works, it must let its customers control its capital.

I think that a big problem with the economy in general is that consumers have no control on it. Multinational companies rule the roost and reign over customers. For example, Stallman was motivated to create the GNU project because a printer manufacturer refused to give the source code of a driver. 25 years later, free drivers may exist for some printers, but the situation has not really improved, free software developers are often obliged to reverse-engineer printer protocols, and customers are forced to buy printers that break down just after the guarantee and can’t be repaired, ink cartridges more expensive than the printer, etc.

Even if the knowledge is copylefted, it is of no help for users as long as means of production are controlled by producers seeking profit. Suppose for example that the patent system is abolished and all pharmaceutical companies are under workers’ control. What would happen? Since we’re in a market economy, these compagnies will probably continue to invest in the most profitable medicine at the expense of billions of people having unprofitable diseases, will continue to spend twice more on advertising than on research, etc.

When working on a license, I think we should always keep in mind the copyleft values of freedom and solidarity. If an economic project is ruled by producers, there won’t be freedom for users to determine its orientation, their only option being to choose a competitor project on the market. The solidarity between producers and consumers is a central value of copyleft, and a raison d’être of IANG is to defend this solidarity also on the economic level. This kind of partnership between consumers and producers is also emerging nowadays for example through fair trade, the Seikatsu cooperatives, etc. But I think that creative works are special because the public is more inclined to donate to artists. Involvement of the public even starts to happen in movie production, as for example with korean netizen funds or Blender open movies. If a 100% open economy will be harder to reach than 100% open
source (even open source software sometimes uses closed source drivers) and some intermediaries may be necessary, I think it’s important that users have a control, in conjunction with producers, so that they can counteract these intermediaries, and make progress towards a more free society.

Entrepriseo.tv

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To be launched end of Sept. 2007

Billeo

Yodlee

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Excerpt from site

Know the bottom line, experience higher profits 

Digital Insight (Intuit)

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Excerpt from site

 

OUR MISSION IS TO HELP OUR CLIENTS COMPETE AND WIN. 

Jwaala

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Excerpt from site

 

Jwaala was started in 2006 with a simple goal in mind – to use the power of technology innovation to provide great solutions to Credit Unions and their Members. To accomplish this goal, Jwaala has brought together a team of experienced and passionate software innovators, and partnered with forward looking and innovative Credit Unions.

Peermint

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To be launched in NZ, AUS, CAN

Excerpt from main page

 

Welcome to Your Bank.
You will soon be able to borrow or lend money directly with other people.
We'll be launching in the near future, stay tuned to our progress by entering your email address below.

 

 

aKos Technology Corporation

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From site

 aKos Technology Corporation is the pioneering force behind the emergence of mobile remittances. By marrying wireless services and money-transfer technology, we enable wireless carriers to offer remittance services to their subscribers. As a result, individuals can send money internationally from their mobile phone and recipients can receive those funds in cash at merchants they already frequent. Now, wireless carriers can take part in the multi-billion dollar global remittance market.

Social Lending Watch

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Excerpt from site:

SocialLendingWatch.com (SLW) exists to provide timely, relevant, and objective information focused exclusively on the Web 2.0 phenomenon known as Social / P2P Lending.

SLW is focused on educating its readers - including potential borrowers and lenders - on the services being offered by companies in web-based Social Lending, and providing information and resources for people to make informed decisions.

SLW is tracking, with interest, the emergence of Social Lending services particularly in the markets of the USA, UK, Canada, and Europe.