Text 5458, 64 rader
Skriven 2005-06-27 22:16:36 av Adam Flinton (1:379/45)
Ärende: More on Gov & OSS/Open formats
======================================
From: Adam Flinton <adam@NOSPAM_softfab.com>

http://www.andwest.com/blojsom/blog/tatle/agenda/2005/06/27/Norwegian_Minister_
Proprietary_Standards_No_Longer_Acceptable_in_Communication_with_Government.htm
l

"On presenting his new plan for information technology in Norway - "eNorge 2009
– the digital leap", Norwegian Minister of Modernization Morten Andreas Meyer
today at a press conference in Oslo declared "Proprietary formats will no
longer be acceptable in communication between citizens and government.""


& in the Ukraine

http://business.newsforge.com/business/05/06/20/2057245.shtml

" A battle for software supremacy within the public and private sectors of
Ukraine has begun. Recently, the Ukrainian Parliament registered a "project of
law" (the equivalent of a bill in U.S. terms) that may radically alter the
manner in which the Ukrainian government procures software. If adopted, it will
require government agencies, along with all state-owned or state-controlled
companies, to give preference to open source software.

However, the proposed legislation still offers ample opportunity for
competition by legitimate proprietary software. It requires giving preference
to an open source product only when the open source feature set is analogous to
that of a commercial product, and justifies using proprietary products if the
open source counterparts are more expensive.

The open source project contains nearly the entire OSI definition of open
source, translated into the language of the Ukrainian legal system. It
stipulates that all source code developed by public authorities is to be of an
open nature, constrained only by the requirements of national security. And the
bill does not limit itself to just software. Among its key elements is the
requirement for state authorities to incorporate open standards in their work.
Another provision requires public authorities to open the source code of the
software they develop, except in cases when national security considerations
requires the contrary.

Social and economic ramifications of an open software policy

The adoption of the open source project is more than a software issue; it is
critical to the well-being of the Ukraine economy. Today, more than 90% of the
million-plus computers in Ukraine run pirated software. If we assume that the
average cost of the software installed on these computers runs to at least a
thousand dollars each, the funds that would be required to legalize all this
proprietary software would run into the billions of dollars.

In addition, there are issues that extend beyond Ukraine itself. Specifically,
Ukraine has declared its willingness to join the European Union and must
therefore remove the stigma of being a violator of intellectual property rights
by legalizing its proprietary software. Such a move could financially strangle
the country. According to estimates by the Centre for Constitutional Studies, a
Ukrainian think tank, the overall expenditures necessary to legalize the
currently installed government and commercial proprietary software could cost
the country as much as $523 billion. Those costs include both anti-piracy
campaigns and license fees. The magnitude of the problem is clear when you
consider that Ukraine's state budget for 2005 is just over $100 billion. "


Adam

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