Re: [Paparazzi-devel] question about paparazzi on sounding rocket

[Jake Stewart]

Chris can you clarify that a bit?  Is PPZ now on some sort of arms control list?

I also don't see how open source software could be subject to any export 
restrictions.

In my field there are tons of regulations imposed by every clueless politician 
who thinks his job is to pass as much unintelligable and unenforcable garbage 
as his print quota will allow.  I've never actually heard of any of it being 
followed.  In the biosciences everyone has their own Institutional Review Board 
to worry about, and government organizations like the USDA don't themselves 
follow most of the laws politicians saddle them with, mostly because you'd need 
a team of lawyers to actually figure them out.

IME most of the time you would want to get a permit is when your own IRB thinks 
it's dangerous enough that you need to cover your own ass by getting one of the 
handful of permits that might apply.

That's to say that as the expert on the technology you're really the only one 
qualified to determine what laws are applicable.

Maybe things are different with military issues involved, but if it's not on 
the list then the laws don't apply right?  Wouldn't they need a reason to add 
it to the list before anyone on either end should worry about such things?


-Jake

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Chris Gough
> Sent: 02/14/12 05:22 AM
> To: address@hidden
> Subject: Re: [Paparazzi-devel] question about paparazzi on sounding rocket
> 
> > The best thing about open source software an hardware (at lease with GPL) is
> > that it is outside of MTCR and ITAR restrictions.
> 
> I have formal advice contradicting this from the Australian Defence
> Department (Defence Export Control Office).
> 
> Their technical assessment found that paparazzi autopilot hardware is
> a "dual-use good" under MTCR. It took me ~9 months and >20 submissions
> to get a license to export it.
> 
> Don't piss them off, they have a big stick.
> 
> Chris Gough