Date: August 16th 2005

Download the primer:

• Open Document format (111KB)
  http://www.iosn.net/open-standards/foss-open-standards-primer/foss-openstds-v01-1.odt
  

• PDF format (485KB)
  http://www.iosn.net/open-standards/foss-open-standards-primer/foss-openstds-v01-1.pdf
  

Many public institutions like government agencies and civil society organizations are obliged by new legislation to place information in the public domain. Unfortunately many of them are using proprietary formats which require members of the public to purchase or illegally copy proprietary software. This primer provides an overview of standards setting bodies and FOSS software and tools to create new content as well as migrate to solutions based on Open Standards.

The primer provides existing case studies on the polices and initiatives of governments implementing open standards policies. It also covers current patent and licensing issues with Open Standards implementations.

This IOSN Primer is an initiative of UNDP Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme and supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

This pre-publication version is made available for public review and feedback. Please do not cite or quote.  Feedback and comments are welcome and should be received before 5th September 2005.

Please send feedback to info@iosn.net

This publication is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license.

For full details of the license, please refer to the following: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/legalcode

Contact:

Sunil Abraham and Khairil Yusof
info@iosn.net

Tel: (66-2) 288-1234

About UNDP-APDIP International Open Source Network

The International Open Source Network (IOSN - http://www.iosn.net) is a
Centre of Excellence for Free/Open Source Software in the Asia-Pacific
Region. IOSN is an initiative of the Asia-Pacific Information
Development Programme (APDIP - http://www.apdip.net), which has been
supporting the strategic and effective use of Information Communication
Technology (ICT) for poverty alleviation and sustainable human
development in the Asia-Pacific region since 1997. Via a small
secretariat, the IOSN is tasked specifically to facilitate and network
Free/Open Source Software advocates and human resources in the region.

About the International Development Research Center (IDRC)

The IDRC is a Canadian public corporation that works in close
collaboration with researchers from the developing world in their search
for the means to build healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous
societies. For more information please see http://www.idrc.ca.