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<title>FSF Europe - Recommendation for the 6th EU Framework Programme</title>
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[ <a href="/activities/fp6/">Back to the FP6 page</a> ]
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<h3>Hamburg, April 30th, 2002</h3>
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<h1>Recommendation</h1>
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of the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSF Europe)<br />
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and supporting parties<br />
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for the<br />
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<b>Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the
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Council concerning the rules for the participation of undertakings,
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research centres and universities and for the dissemination of research
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results for the implementation of the European Community framework
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programme 2002--2006</b>
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<br />
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<a href="recommendation.pdf">Download as PDF; 126k</a>
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<br />
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[ Recommendation | <a href="reasoning.html">Reasoning</a> | <a href="supporting-parties.html">Supporting Parties</a> ] [ <a href="more-support.html">More Supporting Parties</a> ]
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<br />
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<p>Free Software is a concept that has fundamentally changed the way some
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parts of the IT sector are working towards a more stable, lasting and
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sustainable approach with higher dynamics and increased efficiency. It
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is obvious that the first region to adopt and support this principle
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on a larger scale can profit enormously and get a head-start in the
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information age.</p>
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<p>This document explains some of the reasons why Free Software should be
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included in the considerations on the <em>6th European Community
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framework programme 2002-2006</em> and gives input on how this could be
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done.</p>
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<p>Free Software -- sometimes also referred to as ``Libre software'' or
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``Open Source Software'' -- is best defined by the following four
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freedoms:</p>
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<ul>
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<li>1. freedom: The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.</li>
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<li>2. freedom: The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it
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to your needs. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.</li>
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<li>3. freedom: The freedom to redistribute copies.</li>
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<li>4. freedom: The freedom to improve the program, and release your
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improvements to the public, so that the whole community
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benefits. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.</li>
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</ul>
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<p>For reasons that can be found online<sup><a NAME="ref1" HREF="#fn1">1</a></sup>, this document will
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use Free Software as the preferred term.</p>
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<h2>Summary</h2>
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<p>The ability of any region, country or person to participate in the
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information age will be largely determined by access to and control
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over key technologies and networks.</p>
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<p>As a result of the proprietary software model, we are currently in a
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situation where almost the whole European information technologies
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industry is dependent on an oligopoly of U.S. software companies.
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Viewed from the European perspective, such a situation is highly
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unstable and unfavorable.</p>
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<p>Not coincidentally, the only true exception to this, the internet, is
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largely run on Free Software.</p>
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<p>Recognising the usefulness and importance of Free Software for the
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future of Europe, the Information Society Technologies (IST) research
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programme of the European Commission has shown increasting interest in
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Free Software over the past years. An example of this was the ``2001
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action line Free Software development: towards critical mass'' within
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the 5th European European Community framework programme.
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Consequently, Free Software is also found in the ``Work Programme
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2002'' of the IST.</p>
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<p>Free Software provides an alternative model for information technology
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with significant advantages for numerous objectives and areas
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specified in the Proposal for the <em>6th European Commission
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framework programme</em>.</p>
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<p>Even if these are sometimes hard to quantify, it is clear that Europe
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could greatly benefit from increased employment of Free Software in
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terms of</p>
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<ul>
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<li> Greater independence</li>
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<li> Increased sustainability</li>
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<li> Freedom from foreign mono- and oligopolies</li>
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<li> Alternative hard- and software possibilities</li>
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<li> Strengthened domestic market and local industries</li>
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<li> Better cooperation between research and economy</li>
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<li> Encouraged transdisciplinary research</li>
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<li> Better protection of civil rights</li>
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</ul>
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<p>Free Software is clearly a model of the future and Europe already has
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an increasingly vibrant Free Software scene unrivaled anywhere in the
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world. This gives Europe a very unique chance to capitalise on the
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benefits of Free Software and get a head-start into the knowledge
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economy.</p>
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<p>For a more detailed and explanatory reasoning, please see section
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<a href="reasoning.html">Reasoning</a>.</p>
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<h2>Recommendation</h2>
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<p>We<sup><a NAME="ref2" HREF="#fn2">2</a></sup>
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recommend that for all activities within the <em>6th European
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Commission framework programme</em>, Free Software becomes the preferred
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and recommended choice.</p>
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<p>We suggest that the programme and projects should monitor and report
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on the share of the funding used for results released under a Free
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Software or Free Documentation license. In certain areas like the IST
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programme or fundamental research, the objective must be set that this
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share is at least 50% of the budget used to produce software or
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disseminable documentation.</p>
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<p>As other ways of increasing the European edge, we furthermore
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recommend:</p>
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<ul>
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<h3>Dedicated calls</h3>
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<p>In some areas -- ``eEurope'' or fundamental scientific research being
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two examples -- it would be advisable to enforce the advantages
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offered by Free Software by explicitly and exclusively calling for
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projects that will release their results under a Free Software and/or
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Free Documentation license.</p>
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<h3>Preference in evaluation</h3>
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<p>As a general criterion it would be in the interest of Europe that
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projects making their results available under a Free Software (and --
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possibly -- Free Documentation) license<sup><a NAME="ref3"
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HREF="#fn3">3</a></sup> should receive a positive score in the
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evaluation process, giving them an advantage over comparable projects
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not offering this increased European value.</p>
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<p>Additional positive scores in the evaluation process should be
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granted to projects employing ``Copylefted'' Free Software<sup><a
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NAME="ref4" HREF="#fn4">4</a></sup> and projects taking steps to
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ensure the enduring availability and legal maintainability of the Free
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Software created through copyright assignments<sup><a NAME="ref5"
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HREF="#fn5">5</a></sup> to appropriate institutions.</p>
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<h3>Information</h3>
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<p>The preference and recommendation for Free Software should be added in
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the guidelines for evaluators, the policy documents and the documents
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explaining the rules of participation for project applications.</p>
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<p>Although Free Software is per se available to any organisation, person
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or company, the European Commission should seek to inform and
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encourage local companies about and to Free Software, building up the
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expertise fundamentally necessary for the information age.</p>
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</ul>
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<hr />
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<dt><a NAME="fn1"></a><sup>1</sup>
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Please see <a
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href="/activities/whyfs/whyfs.html">https://fsfe.org/activities/whyfs/whyfs.html</a></dt>
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<dt><a NAME="fn2"></a><sup>2</sup>
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The Free Software Foundation Europe and parties supporting
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this recommendation. Information about the FSF Europe and the list
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of supporting parties can be found <a href="supporting-parties.html">here</a>.</dt>
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<dt><a NAME="fn3"></a><sup>3</sup>
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See <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html">http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html</a></dt>
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<dt><a NAME="fn4"></a><sup>4</sup>
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Copylefted Free Software not only offers the four freedoms quoted
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above, it also protects them. The most successful and best-known
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Copyleft license is the ``GNU General Public License'' of the Free
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Software Foundation, under which more than 50% of all Free Software
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is being released.</dt>
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<dt><a NAME="fn5"></a><sup>5</sup>
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Transferral of exclusive exploitation rights in countries following
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the ``Droit d'Auteur'' tradition.</dt>
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