[FSFE PR][EN] FSFE becomes the legal guardian of the OpenSwarm Project

[Joachim Jakobs]

FSFE becomes the legal guardian of the OpenSwarm Project

    The OpenSwarm Project has become a signatory of the Fiduciary
    licence Agreement (FLA), a copyright assignment that allows FSFE
    to become the legal guardian of projects.

Anastasios Hatzis, the developer behind the OpenSwarm model-driven 
development platform for Python applications, lead the process of 
assigning copyright to FSFE.  "My company - HATZIS Edelstahlbearbeitung 
GmbH - wanted to foster a development community around the OpenSwarm 
technology while also underwriting our commitment to Free Software," 
said Anastasios.  "The FLA has provided us with an excellent way to 
ensure code coherency and a framework for long-term development."

The OpenSwarm Project will be protected by FSFE's Freedom Task Force 
(FTF).  Shane Coughlan, FTF Coordinator, explains "The Freedom Task 
Force is here to help strengthen the legal foundation of the Free 
Software eco-system.  The Fiduciary licence Agreement is part of this.  
It provides a clear way for projects to consolidate their copyright.  
In the case of OpenSwarm, FSFE is acting a legal guardian for the 
project and ensuring that the developers can focus on maturing an 
exciting development platform."

"FSFE is committed to help increase the maturity of the Free Software
community, including the legal maintainability of Free Software in the
long-term," explains FSFE president Georg Greve. He adds: "The FTF has
a specific part to play in this and we would like to thank Stichting
NLnet for their support in its launch and initial activities.  We hope
other groups will also lend support."

Shane Coughlan summarises "the FTF mission to help educate 
individuals, projects and businesses in the advantages of Free Software 
licences, and to help the use of Free Software licences through 
fiduciary assignment and legal guardianship.  The Bacula project was 
the first to avail of our fiduciary programme, and OpenSwarm underlines 
the continued developer interest in this service."

The Freedom Task Force can be found at http://www.fsfeurope.org/ftf

The Freedom Task Force can be emailed at ftf at fsfeurope.org

About the OpenSwarm Project:

   Development of OpenSwarm has been started at the HATZIS 
   Edelstahlbearbeitung GmbH. HATZIS is a family-owned and med-sized 
   steel-engineering company in Bavaria, Germany, which provides to 
   more than 300 companies construction and production services for 
   highest quality components made of stainless steel.

   OpenSwarm is planned to be a holistic set of model-driven software 
   development tools focused on the easy creation of powerful and 
   business logic enriched applications in the field of Web- and 
   data-centric solutions for industry, public sector and non-profit 
   organisations. The generated software systems are implemented in 
   Python and data is stored in PostgreSQL databases, so they can be 
   hosted on almost any platform.

   Further information: http://openswarm.sourceforge.net/

About the Free Software Foundation Europe:

   The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
   non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
   involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
   participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation
   in the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
   Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
   furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
   modify and copy. Founded in 2001, 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 FSFE.

Contact:

   Free Software Foundation Europe
    Belgium:     +32   2 747 03 57
    Switzerland: +41  43 500 03 66
    UK:          +44  29 200 08 17 7
    Germany:     +49 700 373 38 76 73

   Shane Coughlan, FTF Co-ordinator, FSFE extension: 408

   Joachim Jakobs, Media Relations,  FSFE extension: 404
                                             mobile: +49-179-6919565

   Further information: http://fsfeurope.org

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