[Board] Definition of "IP" and "Intellectual Poverty"

[Jody Garnett]

> I'm with Jody on this one, I don't think we should be trying to deny that there is such a thing as intellectual property. A GPL-like license is one way of protecting your intellectual property (ensuring it stays open) - if you don't believe there is such a thing as intellectual property then a GPL license makes no sense (why should you be able to impose constraints on what someone does with your code?). Companies that I have worked with use the term in contexts such as doing an audit of open source software they are using to ensure they are conforming to the license terms for each piece of software. This can be quite complex. I think this is one context in which Eclipse uses the term.
I am also super keen on one of our strengths with the OSGeo foundation : while we have open source in our name - we are every bit as concerned with a project being open. 

That is we are stepping beyond the rather narrow IP focused limits of an open source license - and considering how to help our projects be open to participation :-) 

Jody
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