Many software tenders in EU maybe 'illegal'

Software tenders by European public administration often may not comply with EU regulations, illegally favouring proprietary applications. “These tenders could be protested against, and if necessary the tendering organisations could be taken to court”, said Karel De Vriendt, head of the IDABC unit responsible for the Open Source Software Observatory and Repository (osor.eu).

The European Commission’s IDABC on Monday published a draft of the ‘Guidelines on public procurement and Open Source Software’, at the Open Source World conference taking place in Malaga. The guideline shows how how public administrations can end discrimination against Open Source in public tenders. It also details how and when the characteristics of Open Source software, such as the right to use the software without restrictions, the right the study the software code, the right to adapt the software code when needed and the right to share the software with others, can be relevant requirements in public tenders.

An article for the Open Source Observatory and Repository, published on October 21.