[Gslug-general] free/open source software and complying with US export laws

[Adam Monsen]

(recommended Followup-To: linux-list hosted at linuxjournal.com)

I work on Free² software for microfinance (Mifos). We host source code
and downloads on sf.net. There's a concern that we may be in violation
of OFAC (or something) if our software can be downloaded from Cuba,
Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Sudan or Syria. I'm particularly stymied by the
thought of trying to coordinate IP blocks with all the gracious, gratis
offerings of several different hosting providers (sf.net for scm and
downloads, java.net for issue tracking, gmane for mirroring of commit
emails and other mailing lists, etc).

Anyone know what to do about this? Or does anyone have a contact I could
talk with somewhere like Red Hat, MySQL, Canonical, Mozilla, etc. that
could share how to comply with US export regulations? Or maybe someone
at the software freedom law center?

Other possibly related stuff I found, but don't understand:
http://www.redhat.com/licenses/export/
http://www.mysql.com/common/pages/download_access_denied.html

what about software download mirrors? Do they also have to block IP
addresses in embargoed countries?

And is it just me, or are these export laws ridiculous? Seriously, how
hard is it to download free software, even if your IP is blocked?
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