Simplification of and transparency for national, cross-border and pan-European software licences for governments and companies
4.5.2011
Question for written answer E-004643/2011
to the Commission
Rule 117
Lambert van Nistelrooij (PPE) and Angelika Niebler (PPE)
One of the objectives of the Digital Agenda for Europe (COM(2010)0245) is to create an environment to stimulate innovation and to ensure that Europe can make full use of the opportunities that ICT offer. This question is about the contractual rules governing national, cross-border and pan-European software licences. It is about licences for standard software (software packages and components) that software suppliers offer. They are governed (also where Cloud Computing services are provided) by a licence agreement, sometimes supplemented with maintenance conditions and/or a Service Level Agreement (SLA). Licences for standard software are very diverse and complex and lack transparency with regard to both the legal aspects and the financial aspects (‘pricing models’), while guarantees and certainties are usually absent. These circumstances have a negative impact on governments and businesses.
With the above in mind, we would like to ask the Commission the following:
- 1.Does the Commission share the opinion that governments and companies are hampered in the financially efficient and optimal use of ICT by the complexity of the software licences that software vendors apply?
- 2.Does the Commission agree that easy-to-understand software licence agreements, which are explained in a consistent and unambiguous way by the software vendors, are not the status quo for most of the software packages that are currently used by governments and companies?
- 3.Is the Commission aware that the common practice is normally quite different, namely that users of office software are confronted with unexpected and large supplementary bills (claims) from software vendors?
- 4.Does the Commission agree that licence conditions of software vendors should be reasonable and should provide adequate transparency on financial and other consequences (legal assurance and certainties, liabilities, etc.) of the purchase and use of standard software, so that governments and companies can take a well-balanced procurement decision?
- 5.The power of software vendors is unprecedented, as well as their financial interests. Will the Commission take initiatives in order to support standardisation with regard to transparency and the establishment of reasonable basic norms of licence conditions for the use of standard software?
OJ C 365 E, 15/12/2011