The Government of the Russian Federation has adopted a resolution "On conducting an experiment to grant the right to use software for electronic computers, algorithms, databases, and documentation related to them, including exclusive rights that belong to the Russian Federation, under the conditions of an open license and the creation of conditions for the use of open-source software."
The resolution stipulates:
- The creation of a national repository for open-source software;
- The placement in the repository of software created, including with budget funds, for reuse in other projects;
- The formation of a regulatory framework for the publication of open-source software.
The initiative aims to support the open-source development community, improve the quality of software for government agencies, reduce costs through code reuse, and create a collaborative environment free from sanction risks.
In the first phase, the project will involve the Ministry of Digital Development, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Russian Foundation for the Development of Information Technologies, the registration, cadastre, and cartography service, as well as, upon separate applications, executive authorities, state corporations, non-budgetary forms, and any legal and physical entities. The final list of participants will be formed by June 1, 2023.
The work is planned to be completed by April 30, 2024. If the experiment is successful, it is planned to publish a significant portion of the software developed with budget funds under open licenses in the future, excluding applications that have confidentiality markings. The open code can be used for the implementation of new projects.
A separate license has been prepared for the publication of code developed for government agencies and state corporations, taking into account the specifics of Russian legislation. The state open license is permissive and meets the following criteria:
- Free distribution — the license must not impose any restrictions on the distribution of the software (including the sale of copies and other forms of distribution), and must be free of charge (should not contain obligations to pay royalties or other fees);
- Availability of source code — the software must be provided with source code, or a simple mechanism for obtaining access to the source code must be described;
- Modification allowed — modification of the software, its source code, their use in other programs for electronic computing machines, and distribution of derivative programs under the same conditions must be permitted;
- Integrity of the author's source text — even if the license requires the integrity of the author’s source text code, it must explicitly allow the distribution of software created from modified source text;
- No discrimination against individuals or groups;
- No discrimination by purpose of use — the license must not prohibit the use of the software for specific purposes or in a specific field;
- Full rights to distribution — rights related to the software must apply to all users of the software without the need to enter into any additional agreements;
- No dependence on other software — rights related to the software must not depend on whether the software is part of any other software;
- No restrictions on other software — the license must not impose restrictions on other software distributed together with the licensed software;
- Technological neutrality — the license must not be tied to any specific technology or interface style.
Source: opennet.ru
