The next French president needs to put an end to software patents. "It is necessary that France raises it voice in Europe to prevent this mortal danger."
An open letter by Adullact, a French association of developers focusing on Open Source software for civil administrations, urges the two French Presidential candidates to make the use of open standards the rule for government.
In his public letter of Monday 19 February, François Elie, leader of the association, asks the candidates running for the French presidency to strongly oppose any form of software patents. He says such patents are dangerous and make market access difficult for small and medium sized enterprises. Software patents could also ruin the efforts of public administrations to use Open Source software. Elie: "Patents on software are as absurd as would be a patent on the theorem of Pythagoras."
Adullact calls on the candidates to ensure the development of an information society based on the free use of public goods. "Public institutions have to make an example by making their information accessible to all." Elie writes that open standards must be made the rule for the national and local governments. This should help making the IT used by public administrations interoperable.
The French IT association also objects to the widespread practice of including an operating system with every new desktop PC. "Why is someone buying a computer forced in the choice of operating system? Why can we not choose like in Argentina? Would we accept that all the cars sold in France are ensured by a single foreign insurer, giving it a profit margin of 90 percent?"
Adullact hopes the new French president will force schools to improve the education on the use of IT. Students should be taught the use of different kinds of software. "It is necessary to train them to become active in IT, instead of making them consumers for computer companies."
The association believes that Open Source software and open standards promote competition. It recommends the candidates develop an electronic government based on these. "Using Open Source software is the laboratory for tomorrow's economy."
© European Communities 2007
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