NewsFactor: Linux and the Law

“Open-source software advocates, often dismissed as a meddlesome
group of programmers and free-thinking radicals trying to subvert
the established IT paradigm, are steadily gaining friends in lots
of high places.

“In addition to businesses now taking a serious look at Linux,
Apache and other open-source offerings, governments in the United
States and across the globe are pursuing recommendations and
regulations supporting alternatives to proprietary software.

“The latest broadside aimed at Microsoft and its corporate ilk
was fired this spring by lawmakers in Oregon, who considered a bill
that would require the state’s purchasing agents not only to
consider open-source when buying new software, but also to justify
any purchases of proprietary products…”

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