[ http://fsfeurope.org/documents/fp6/ ]
Recommendation by the
FSF Europe
and more than 40 European
companies, organizations, research centers and projects
for the 6th EU framework programme
Free Software is a concept that has fundamentally changed the way some
parts of the IT sector are working towards a more stable, lasting and
sustainable approach with higher dynamics and increased efficiency. It
is obvious that the first region to adopt and support this principle
on a larger scale can profit enormously and get a head-start in the
information age.
This document explains some of the reasons why Free Software should be
included in the considerations on the 6th European Community framework
programme 2002-2006 and gives input on how this could be done.
Free Software -- sometimes also referred to as ``Libre software'' or
``Open Source Software'' -- is best defined by the following four
freedoms:
* 1. freedom: The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.
* 2. freedom: The freedom to study how the program works, and
adapt it to your needs. Access to the source code is a
precondition for this.
* 3. freedom: The freedom to redistribute copies.
* 4. freedom: The freedom to improve the program, and release your
improvements to the public, so that the whole community
benefits. Access to the source code is a precondition for
this.
For reasons that can be found online [1], this document will use Free
Software as the preferred term.
- Summary
The ability of any region, country or person to participate in the
information age will be largely determined by access to and control
over key technologies and networks.
As a result of the proprietary software model, we are currently in a
situation where almost the whole European information technologies
industry is dependent on an oligopoly of U.S. software
companies. Viewed from the European perspective, such a situation is
highly unstable and unfavorable.
Not coincidentally, the only true exception to this, the internet, is
largely run on Free Software.
Recognizing the usefulness and importance of Free Software for the
future of Europe, the Information Society Technologies (IST) research
programme of the European Commission has shown increasting interest in
Free Software over the past years. An example of this was the ``2001
action line Free Software development: towards critical mass'' within
the 5th European European Community framework programme. Consequently,
Free Software is also found in the ``Work Programme 2002'' of the IST.
Free Software provides an alternative model for information technology
with significant advantages for numerous objectives and areas
specified in the Proposal for the 6th European Commission framework
programme.
Even if these are sometimes hard to quantify, it is clear that Europe
could greatly benefit from increased employment of Free Software in
terms of
* Greater independence
* Increased sustainability
* Freedom from foreign mono- and oligopolies
* Alternative hard- and software possibilities
* Strengthened domestic market and local industries
* Better cooperation between research and economy
* Encouraged transdisciplinary research
* Better protection of civil rights
Free Software is clearly a model of the future and Europe already has
an increasingly vibrant Free Software scene unrivaled anywhere in the
world. This gives Europe a very unique chance to capitalize on the
benefits of Free Software and get a head-start into the knowledge
economy.
For a more detailed and explanatory reasoning, please see section
Reasoning. Recommendation
We [2] recommend that for all activities within the 6th European
Commission framework programme, Free Software becomes the preferred
and recommended choice.
We suggest that the programme and projects should monitor and report
on the share of the funding used for results released under a Free
Software or Free Documentation license. In certain areas like the IST
programme or fundamental research, the objective must be set that this
share is at least 50% of the budget used to produce software or
disseminable documentation.
As other ways of increasing the European edge, we furthermore
recommend:
Dedicated calls
In some areas -- ``eEurope'' or fundamental scientific research
being two examples -- it would be advisable to enforce the
advantages offered by Free Software by explicitly and
exclusively calling for projects that will release their results
under a Free Software and/or Free Documentation license.
Preference in evaluation
As a general criterion it would be in the interest of Europe
that projects making their results available under a Free
Software (and -- possibly -- Free Documentation) license [3]
should receive a positive score in the evaluation process,
giving them an advantage over comparable projects not offering
this increased European value.
Additional positive scores in the evaluation process should be
granted to projects employing ``Copylefted'' Free Software [4]
and projects taking steps to ensure the enduring availability
and legal maintainability of the Free Software created through
copyright assignments [5] to appropriate institutions.
Information
The preference and recommendation for Free Software should be
added in the guidelines for evaluators, the policy documents and
the documents explaining the rules of participation for project
applications.
Although Free Software is per se available to any organization,
person or company, the European Commission should seek to inform
and encourage local companies about and to Free Software,
building up the expertise fundamentally necessary for the
information age.
[1] Please see http://fsfeurope.org/documents/whyfs.en.html
[2] The Free Software Foundation Europe and parties supporting this
recommendation. Information about the FSF Europe and the list of
supporting parties can be found at
http://fsfeurope.org/documents/fp6/supporting-parties.en.html
[3] See http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html
[4] Copylefted Free Software not only offers the four freedoms quoted
above, it also protects them. The most successful and best-known
Copyleft license is the ``GNU General Public License'' of the Free
Software Foundation, under which more than 50% of all Free Software is
being released.
[5] Transferral of exclusive exploitation rights in countries
following the ``Droit d'Auteur'' tradition.
About the Free Software Foundation Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSF Europe) is a charitable
non-governmental organization dedicated to all aspects of Free
Software in Europe. Access to software determines who may participate
in a digital society. Therefore the freedoms to use, copy, modify and
redistribute software - as described in the Free Software definition -
allow equal participation in the information age. Creating awareness
for these issues, securing Free Software politically and legally, and
giving people freedom by supporting development of Free Software are
central issues of the FSF Europe, which was founded in 2001 as the
European sister organization of the Free Software Foundation in the
United States.
More information: http://fsfeurope.org/
Contact:
Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)fsfeurope.org>
Tel: +49-40-23809080
Fax: +49-40-23809081
Further press contact information is available at http://fsfeurope.org/press/.
[ An online version of this release is available at
http://www.fsf.org/press/2002-04-11-ms-patent.html. ]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Free Software Foundation
Bradley M. Kuhn <pr(a)fsf.org>
Phone: +1-617-542-5942
Microsoft Attacks Free Software Developers with New License
Boston, Massachusetts, USA - Thursday, April 11, 2002 - Microsoft,
in its new "Royalty-Free CIFS Technical Reference License Agreement",
unequivocally targets Free Software developers who choose copyleft
licensing terms. Microsoft's new license directly attacks the GNU
General Public License (GPL) and the GNU Lesser General Public License
(LGPL)----licenses published by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and
used prominently by numerous Free Software projects worldwide.
Microsoft has veiled this attack in the trappings of a "gift". Microsoft
agrees to grant royalty-free permission to use and exercise their CIFS
patents in Free Software, but only to a limited set of developers. Under
the guise of fulfilling its obligations under the anti-trust settlement,
Microsoft has singled out developers and companies who choose copyleft
licenses (such as GPL and LGPL). Software distributors of copylefted
software are forbidden from exercising the patents royalty-free, and thus
are effectively forbidden from exercising the patents at all under copyleft.
In effect, Microsoft has vindicated the warnings FSF set forth in its
Tunney act filing against the Proposed Revised Final Judgment in United
States vs. Microsoft. As we there warned the Justice Department and the
courts, the settlement terms are not in the public interest because they
permit Microsoft to deny effective access to their APIs to Microsoft's
most effective competitors--Free Software developers.
Microsoft's tactics were no surprise to Bradley M. Kuhn, executive director
of the FSF, who pointed out: "Microsoft's new assault follows a year's
worth of rhetoric aimed at slandering the GPL and those who, in the name of
software freedom, advocate the use of GPL. Now, that war of words has been
followed up with a legal attack. As Mundie's speeches tried and failed
to do last summer, Microsoft seeks to pressure existing GPL'ed projects
to give up copyleft. Microsoft loves non-copylefted Free Software;
it allows them to benefit from the commons without contributing back.
In copylefted Free Software, Microsoft now faces a rival that they cannot
buy nor run out of business. As expected, they've turned to their patent
pool as their last resort to assail us". Fortunately, developers of GPL'ed
code stand united in rejecting this anti-competitive act by Microsoft.
The FSF is also encouraging key industry leaders who distribute and rely
on GPL'ed software to stand against Microsoft on this matter.
This situation exemplifies the dire threat software patents have against
software freedom. Fortunately, software patents do not exist in every
country. The FSF urges citizens in software-patent-free countries to demand
that their governments categorically reject software patents. Kuhn noted:
"the best way to fight Microsoft as they offensively assert their patent
rights is to convince your government not to recognize software patents
as a legitimate use of patent law". The fight against software patents is
particularly urgent in Europe, as the European Union may decide to permit
software patents soon. Europeans citizens are encouraged to support
efforts opposing software patents for the EU. For more information,
see http://www.freepatents.org/.
About the Free Software Foundation:
The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting
computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute
computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of Free (as
in freedom) Software - particularly the GNU operating system and its
GNU/Linux variants - and Free Documentation for Free Software. The FSF
also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of
freedom in the use of software. Their web site, located at
http://www.fsf.org, is an important source of information about GNU/Linux.
They are headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.