Open source vendors unfairly excluded from government contracts

European public sector IT contracts are unfairly favouring large suppliers such as Microsoft by ignoring the rules governing the use of trademarks in tender requests, according to a new report.

Campaign group OpenForum Europe has analysed more than 400 IT-related tender notices posted to the Official Journal of the EU between February and March 2010.

It found that more than one in 10 notices included the use of trademarks within the technical specifications, thereby restricting the firms that could bid for the work.

Where tenders were found to include trademarks, the overwhelming majority mentioned ones belonging to Microsoft.

Bertrand Diard, chief executive of open-source data management vendor Talend, called on the UK government to enforce best practice and to encourage fair competition for UK public sector contracts.

“The current process of IT contract tender [in Europe] is rife with issues,” he said. “If there is to be any development for open standards in the UK, then responsibility falls upon the shoulders of those in the Cabinet Office to follow through on their initial plans.”

Under EU rules, public sector bodies should avoid using trademarks in tender notices for software packages and information systems, in order to encourage competition.

In the wake of its long-running anti-trust dispute with Microsoft, EU officials had be keen to encourage public sector organisations to consider alternatives to Microsoft’s technology, particularly in areas where the Redmond-based firm dominated the market, such as desktop operating systems and productivity tools.

Public sector firms should include the expression “or equivalent” in tender documents where trademarked software is mentioned under the current tendering rules.

But it is clear that “government agencies are still negotiating procedures with one preferred supplier without competition,” added Diard.

Despite the prevalence of trademarks in tender documents, the trend is falling. Similar research in 2008 and 2009 found that the use of trademarks was far more widespread in IT tenders.