Re: [school-discuss] Peruvian project?

[Felipe Bergo <bergo@seul.org>]

On Mon, 22 Apr 2002, Doug Loss wrote:

> I heard that there's "a law project for implementing ONLY free
> software in all goverment entities."  This website was then
> referenced.  Could some of our native Spanish speakers take a look
> and see if this fits with Schoolforge's objectives?  Thanks.
> 
> http://www.gnu.org.pe/main.html

That site lists some law projects that have been presented to the 
Congress very recently (March-April 2002), but there is no information of 
any outcome of approval. Laws like this are hardly approved quickly 
anywhere, I believe.

http://www.gnu.org.pe/proley4.html

Is the text of one of the Law projects. It has a long introduction 
presenting the problems (proprietary software may include spyware and call 
home, for instance).

Comments in square brackets are mine. Spanish is not my first language 
(not the second either...), but there goes it:

Article 1 - Object of the Law: All Public Institutions must employ
exclusively free software in its systems and computer equipment.

Article 2 - Extent of Application:
Executive, Legislative and Judiciary powers, autonomous and 
descentralized organisms, be local or regional and corporations where the 
State is the major share holder, will make use of free software in its 
systems and computer equipment.

Article 3 - Authority of Application:
The authority in charge of enforcing this [law] will be the Presidency of 
the Counsel of Ministers.

Article 4 - Definition of Free Software
(... not translating since I'm in a kind of hurry, but it's correct 
thought it's expressed shortly in 6 items ...)

Article 5 - Exceptions:
In case there isn't a solution in free software form to satisfy a given 
necessity, the state institutions may adopt alternatives, following this 
precedence rules:

Given time constraints to solve a technical problem and proprietary 
solutions exist in the market, the organism may request an Exception 
Permission of Use of Proprietary Software before the Authority of 
Application [Art.3], with the following characteristics:

1. Programs that agree with all article 4 items but the ability to 
   distribute modified versions will be selected if such exists.
   In this case, permission may be definitive. 
   [this is basically the difference between free software and "open 
   source"]

2. Programs for which an advanced free development model [??] should
   be selected next, if the previous kind is not available.
   The permission is valid until a satisfactory free software
   alternative is available.
   [maybe this advanced model is something like StarOffice/OpenOffice ?]

3. If no products are found with the above conditions, proprietary
   software may be selected, but the permission will expire every
   year.

The Authority of Application will only grant a permission only if the 
State organism warrants that data will be stored in open formats, free 
from the software's license fees. [hard to translate the last part, but it 
ensures that the proprietary software's maker cannot charge for the usage 
of data files manipulated by the software]

Article 6: Educational Permissions

Every educational entity dependent of the State is allowed to use 
proprietary software for investigation purposes, along as the license fees 
are paid and and the investigation subject is directly related to the use 
of that program.

Article 7: Transparency of Exceptions

All granted exception permissions will be made public in the web site of 
the State. Each resolution must enumerate the technical requirements that 
the software must satisfy.

[Articles 8,9 and 10 about documentation of exceptions, responsibilities 
and time frame for implementation of the law once it's approved]

Article 11 - Glossary of Terms

(...)

Open Format: any means of codification of digital information that 
satisfy:

1) Its complete technical reference is available publicly

2) The source code of at least one complete reference implementation
   is publicly available.

3) No restrictions exist for the making of software that store, trasmit,
   receive or access data stored in this format.

.........................................................................
Felipe Paulo Guazzi Bergo - Computer Science MSc Student at Unicamp
bergo@seul.org - Campinas - SP - Brazil - Earth 
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