The Brasília Protocol (now translated to English) started the process of implementation of the Open Document Format (ODF) within the Brazilian Government. The Protocol was signed during the opening of CONSEGI 2008 by Bank of Brazil, Serpro, Dataprev, Post Office and Telegraph State Company (ECT), INPE (Institute of Spacial Researches), INPI (Institute of Intellectual Property), Ministry of Exterior Relations and others. All the institutions who signed the protocol are assuming the commitment to use the ODF standard, make it available to society-at-large, exchange documents between themselves in this format and to share solutions in open format. The news is on ODF Alliance website.

As the General Director of ODF Alliance Chapter Brazil declared at the debate hosted at CONSEGI 2008: “the citizen must understand that when they open a government website and the file offered is in a format of a proprietary software, it presupposes that he/she is obligated to have the license of that software, what is unacceptable and out of the law.”

This quick action clearly shows how important the choice of ODF format is by the government. It it is a show of respect to the country’s citizens, since the government won’t force them to buy a license in order to view information which is their right to have access to. The implementation process in Brazil will be coordinated by Caixa Econômica Federal (Federal Bank). Clarice Copetti, the vice-president of Technology of Caixa, says: “The Brazilian Government is the biggest buyer of IT. With this decision, the entities who signed the protocol will redirect their investiments to train their teams and to develop new solutions for this format”.