COMMISSION DECISION

of 6 July 2016

regarding the open source licensing of DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Integrated Fisheries Data Management software

(2016/C 252/03)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty Establishing the European Atomic Energy Community and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to the Decision of the Commission of 19 September 2001 (PV1536) conferring to the Directors-General and Heads of Services the power to decide on the need to file an application for protection of intellectual property rights resulting from the activities or programmes for which they are responsible, the granting of licences related thereto, the acquisition, transfer or surrender or abandoning of rights, and to the Directors-General the power of administrative execution related thereto,

Whereas:

(1) The Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) has developed several information systems belonging to the Integrated Fisheries Data Management (IFDM) software suite for electronic exchanges of fishing activities data based on the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) FLUX standard.

(2) The current IFDM suite (hereinafter referred to as the software) contains the following information systems: FLUX Transportation Layer for the exchange of electronic messages according to the UN/CEFACT standard, the Union Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) tool for the monitoring of vessel positions and for which DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries has developed three modules (Spatial, reporting and USM) as well as the VMS ERS Viewer which extends Union VMS with functionality for the visualisation of electronic fishing logbooks in the UN/CEFACT format.

(3) The open source licensing of the software could benefit the worldwide harmonisation of fisheries data exchanges and allow cost savings. Therefore, the distribution of the software tools should be made available to Member States, third countries, Regional Fisheries Monitoring Organisations as well as the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

(4) DG Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, as DG responsible for the development and maintenance of the software and — at the same time — entrusted service for the administrative execution of decisions in the field of Intellectual Property, considers the open source licensing of the software appropriate and opportune.

(5) In order to distribute and to promote the use of the software and to avoid its exclusive appropriation, the software will be released under an open source license,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Non-exclusive open source licence terms may be applied for the distribution of the software with a view to enable its use, reproduction, development, and further distribution.

Article 2

This Decision will apply to any future releases or new versions of this software.

Done at Brussels, 6 July 2016.

For the Commission

João AGUIAR MACHADO

Director-General