"The treaty doesn't force us to implement this like the US, where these laws have driven litigation to suppress academic publications, prevent third-party printer cartridge manufacturers and eliminate competition by open source software. But naturally, some large business interests are pressing for the same restrictions on legitimate access to digital material here," he said.

The letter concluded that anti-circumvention laws would not only inhibit open source, but create ongoing legal and ethical problems.

"We have no issue with laws which give copyright holders authority over fences they place around their own property. However, laws which give them authority over fences they place around others' property would be absurd, anti-competitive, anti-consumer, and would lead us into a destructive blaze of legal threats and litigation for years to come," Linux Australia said.