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NZICT
NZICT is a New Zealand based group that lobbies for software patents. NZICT is largely funded by companies outside of New Zealand.
According to patent attorney Steve Lundberg,[1] NZICT convinced the New Zealand government to abandon the ban of software patents they had announced in March 2010.[2]
Contents
Who funds NZICT?
NZICT's membership page lists 10 "Tier 1" members, 14 "Tier 2" members, and 63 "General" members.[3] Their Joining page explains that the annual fees are NZ$25,000 for Tier 1 members, NZ$8,000 for Tier 2 members, and NZ$750 for General members. The membership takings for 2010 are thus:
- NZ$250,000 from the Tier 1 members (61.1%)
- NZ$112,000 from the Tier 2 members (27.4%)
- NZ$47,250 from the General members (13.5%)
- (total: NZ$409,250)
What percent of funding comes from outside New Zealand
At first glance, at least NZ$199,000 of their annual membership fees (NZ$409,250) come from foreign companies:
- Foreign companies paying Tier 1 fees: Cisco, Dell, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Ingram Micro, Microsoft, Unisys
- Foreign companies paying Tier 2 fees: Fujitsu, Lenovo, Infosys
Who are the Tier 1 funders?
Their "tier 1" members are:[4]