"Since taking office two years ago, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has turned Brazil into a tropical outpost of the free software movement.
"Looking to save millions of dollars in royalties and licensing fees, Mr. da Silva has instructed government ministries and state-run companies to gradually switch from costly operating systems made by Microsoft and others to free operating systems, like Linux.
"On Mr. da Silva's watch, Brazil has also become the first country to require any company or research institute that receives government financing to develop software to license it as open-source, meaning the underlying software code must be free to all."
Todd Benson. Brazil: Free Software's Biggest and Best Friend. News.com. March 29, 2005.
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Posted by Carol Schwartz at March 31, 2005 08:13 AM | Send to a friend! | Topic(s): Access, Business & Commerce, E-Government, International, Licensing, Open Source