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Australian Capital Territory passes open source bill (ARNnet)
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has passed legislation that requires
its agencies to consider non-proprietary software, ARNnet
reports. "Section 6A of the Government Procurement Guideline
amendment bill regarding the procurement of computer software stated: "In
the procurement of computer software, a Territory entity should, as far as
practicable, prefer open source software."" (Found on Open Sector)
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correction Posted Dec 13, 2003 0:23 UTC (Sat) by ccyoung (subscriber, #16340) [Link] says "consider", not "prefer".however, also considers/prefers open and/or ISO standards - this is something we need to remember. now if they had rememberd the phrase "non-patented" as well.
correction Posted Dec 13, 2003 1:36 UTC (Sat) by bug1 (subscriber, #7097) [Link] "now if they had rememberd the phrase "non-patented" as well."Software patents arent recognised in Australia.
patents Posted Dec 13, 2003 2:27 UTC (Sat) by ccyoung (subscriber, #16340) [Link] WOW!! Maybe projects such as SAMBA ought to be homed there ;)
correction to correction Posted Dec 13, 2003 6:10 UTC (Sat) by gdt (subscriber, #6284) [Link]
Wrong. Section 18 of the Patents Act 1990 (Cth) does not list algorithms as one of the areas of knowledge which cannot be patented. Since 1986 it has been possible to patent software which controls real-world processes. IBM's success in IBM v Commissioner of Patents (FCA, 1991) [IBM claimed patent of a graphics algorithm] resulted in most algorithms being eligible for patent. So algorithms just need to meet the standard tests for the grant of a patent (novel and inventive, non-obvious, no prior art, etc). Australia has the worst possible system in some respects. Innovation patents allow a company (including a $1 shelf company) to hold up to ten patents for a low fee. But contesting these patents is as expensive and difficult as contesting a full patent. It's true Australia has had much less abuse of the patents system than in the USA. But there is no legislative reason for that, and thus no assurance that we will continue to be so fortunate.
Australian Capital Territory passes open source bill (ARNnet) Posted Dec 14, 2003 6:39 UTC (Sun) by evgeny (subscriber, #774) [Link] Seems like a duplicate of http://lwn.net/Articles/62728/.
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