[Fwd: EDRI-gram - Number 6, 9 April 2003]

[Rui Miguel Seabra]

Hello,

Free Software Association -- Bulgaria' list members, can you comment on
the following? As reported, the draft law would seem to discard all non
copyleft Free Software, or is this a translation/miscommunication issue?

It would be ideal if the definition of Free Software described in the
draft (and final) law corresponds to FSF's.

Hugs, Rui

-----Forwarded Message-----

From: EDRI-gram newsletter <edrigram at edri.org>
To: edri-news at edri.org
Subject: EDRI-gram - Number 6, 9 April 2003
Date: 09 Apr 2003 19:32:55 +0200


==================================================================

                             EDRI-gram

      bi-weekly newsletter about digital civil rights in Europe

                      Number 6, 9 April 2003

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Contents
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2. Draft law promotes free software in Bulgaria

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2. DRAFT LAW PROMOTES FREE SOFTWARE IN BULGARIA
==================================================================

A draft law, currently discussed in parliament in Bulgaria, will oblige all 
governmental institutions to use free software and open formats with their 
computer information systems within 2 years. The law addresses all state 
bodies, mayors of municipalities and regions, higher schools, medical 
establishments, non-profit legal entities as well as other bodies and 
entities that receive governmental funding. A permit of exception from this 
obligation can only be procured on a case-by-case basis, if no free 
software is available for a specific purpose.

In the Bulgarian definition, free software must allow for:

- Unlimited use of the software for all purposes;
- Unlimited access to the source code;
- Comprehensive check of its mechanisms of operation;
- Use of internal mechanisms and of any arbitrary part of it, so that it 
can be adapted to the needs of the user;
- Production and public distribution of its copies;
- Modification and free distribution of changes as well as of the newly 
designed software under the same conditions as those of the original.

If adopted, the law would bring about a remarkable change of policy. Only a 
year ago, Minister of the State Administration Dimitar Kalchev triumphantly 
announced a new contract with Microsoft for the provision of software to 
the state administration. In total, in 3 years Bulgaria would have to pay 
USD 8,400,000 (EUR 7,862,245) to Microsoft.

Press release 'The contract with Microsoft is one of the most advantageous 
contracts sealed in the country' (14.06.2002)
http://www.government.bg/English/Priorities/Administration/2002-06-14/671.html

A copy of the draft law is available through Veni Markovski <veni at veni.com>.


-- 
+ No matter how much you do, you never do enough -- unknown
+ Whatever you do will be insignificant,
| but it is very important that you do it -- Gandhi
+ So let's do it...?

Please AVOID sending me WORD, EXCEL or POWERPOINT attachments.
See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html
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