LMKR the vendor of E-Office Software has refused to give source code E-Government Department, Government of Pakistan as the vendor alleged the work on E-Office Replication Project has been stalled. It is worth mentioning the project had a total value of Rs 45 Million. LMKR accused the E Government Department of not issuing Final Acceptance Certificate.
Company’s stance in this regard is clear as it says the scope of contract covered only the federal government and its allied departments through federal government data center and it did not cover in any way the provincial government and other government departments to which it was now selling government sponsored e office applications.
”LMKR does not think it was under any legal obligation not to sell such similar and customized software to other clients and it has all the rights to sell the similar customized applications which are distinct from the application specifically created under the contract for MOIT/EGD to other clients.”
It also claimed that the access and use of the software was ‘non-exclusive’ and limited to a maximum of 4,500 users and is to be used or copied only for use in locations mentioned in the scope of work. It said the government had not cleared large sums of the contracted amounts to the LMKR.
The company said it was not party to any violation of the tender process or PPRA rules. The company, however, did not mention terms of the request for qualification on which it had participated in the bidding for the contract. Clause 2.6 of the RFQ said:
“The ownership of all products including source code in case of bespoke solution and services rendered under any contract arising as a result of this RFQ will be the property of the Ministry of Information Technology, Government of Pakistan.”
It also avoided mentioning clause 17.4 of the contract it had signed with the EGD in 2004, although with little changed language than mentioned in the RFQ. The clause said:
“The copyright and all other intellectual property rights and confidential information in the software and the manuals shall vest in the customer.”
The subsequent clause of the agreement said,
“The contractor will indemnify and hold harmless the customer against any damages (including costs) that may be awarded or agreed to be paid to any third party in respect of any claim or action that the normal operation possession or use of the software or the manuals by the customer infringes the patent copyright registered design or trade mark rights of said third party”.
The company failed to explain why a product whose property rights vested with the GOP could be sold by the contractor to a government agency like CDA or provincial governments like AJK, even if minor changes are made in the name of customized applications. Meanwhile, the MOIT confirmed that the project for software development of 135 users was launched in November 2004, “but could not be finalized due to various factors”. But the project has now been fast tracked. The ministry said no fact-finding report was submitted to the senate standing committee.
The MOIT’s slows-paced progress on the project resulted in compromising government rights that it should have provided to all government agencies, but was being sold by the vendor.
