[Freegis-list] [not really OT]: important news for the free software movement

[Maurizio Napolitano]

From:
http://www.softwarelibero.it/abbiamo_vinto

Historic victory of the "Associazione per il Software Libero"!

The Italian Ministry of Work withdraws the call for tenders appealed
by the Associazione per il Software Libero (Free Software Association)

The story

On february the 21st 2006 the Italian Ministry of Work and Social
Politics - Department of Technological Innovation published in the
Official Journal of the Italian Republic n. 43 a call for tenders for
the supply of an amount of Euro 4.539.184,55 of Microsoft software
licenses.

This call for tenders allowed to participate only resellers qualified
by Microsoft as "Large Account Resellers": just 11 Italian companies
comply with this.

According to Italian law, before buying software Public
Administrations have to compare all available options, including free
software.

In this case such evaluation was omitted and free competition
principles were violated: just resellers of one company's products
were allowed to compete.

For this reason "Associazione per il Software Libero" decided to
appeal this call for tenders before the court (Regional Administrative
Tribunal of Lazio-Rome) filing case n. 3838/2006.


Press Release

There is no need to wait for the final decision in the case promoted
by the Associazione per il Software Libero against the Ministry of
Work and Social Politics before the Administrative Tribunal of Lazio
Region appealing the call for tenders for the supply of Microsoft
software licenses.

The Ministry withdrawn the call for tenders with act of annullment. [1]

WE WON. Therefore 4.5 million Euros of public money will not be spent
on proprietary software licenses, since the Ministry failed to
consider free software options.

[... ]

The rest of the article (traslated in different languages), here::
http://www.softwarelibero.it/abbiamo_vinto