DECIDES:

Article 1.- To promulgate together with this Decision the provisional Regulation on selection, transfer and use of applied softwares in calculation, planning, survey, designing, construction and operation management of irrigation works.

Article 2.- This Regulation takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Article 3.- The directors of the Ministry�s Office; Science, Technology and Product Quality Department, and Capital Construction Investment Department, and the heads of the concerned units shall have to implement this Decision.

For the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Vice Minister
PHAM HONG GIANG

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Scope of application

This Regulation prescribes the selection, transfer and use of applied softwares in calculation, planning, survey, designing, construction and operation management of irrigation works of the agriculture and rural development branch.

The applied softwares in other domains within the agriculture and rural development branch may also be governed by this Regulation.

Chapter II

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF SOFTWARES

Article 2.- The applied softwares are divided in two groups:

Group A: The standardized softwares used in the entire branch.

Group B: The softwares encouraged for use in the entire branch.

Article 3.- Softwares� origins:

Softwares of lawful origins are those of the following origins:

- Softwares developed by units and/or individuals inside and outside the branch themselves in service of their own daily work, and considered the enterprises� commercial commodities.

- Softwares with lawful copyrights purchased from overseas or free-of-charge softwares.

- Softwares developed with the competent authorities� support.

- Softwares being products of research or experimentation subjects.

Article 4.- Criteria for appraisal of softwares:

1. The softwares must ensure accuracy. Their calculation results are not quite different from those of similar softwares which have already been expertized, or as compared to common-use traditional calculation methods. Each software must contain at least 3 model calculation examples corresponding to different cases.

2. They must comply with the calculation formulas and methods provided for in the State�s and branch�s current processes, criteria and regulations.

3. They can run in the Windows operating system or the equivalent. They have a reasonable interface and are user-friendly. Their interface language for users is Vietnamese (or English). If it is Vietnamese, the code must comply with the current Vietnamese standards. If the softwares run online, they must comply with the Microsoft network criteria.

4. They must not infringe upon the copyright of units and/or individuals inside and outside the country.

Article 5.- Conditions for softwares to be selected and used within the branch:

Softwares selected for widespread use in the branch must have the origins defined in Article 3 and fully meet the criteria mentioned in Article 4.

If there are two or more softwares solving the same problem, priority shall be given to the selection of the softwares owned by the units and/or individuals in the branch or developed jointly by the branch�s units and units and/or individuals outside the branch.

Article 6.- Criteria for group A softwares:

They must meet the criteria mentioned in Articles 3 and 4 and be recognized by the Ministry as having been standardized for use in the entire branch.

Article 7.- Criteria for group B softwares:

They must meet the criteria mentioned in Articles 3 and 4 though their capability to solve problems is still limited as compared to group A softwares of the same type; or they are softwares purchased from foreign countries.

Article 8.- Quantity of group A and B sofwares:

For each problem, there shall be at most 2 softwares of group A. The number of group B softwares to solve the same problem is unlimited.

Chapter III

ORDER AND PROCEDURES FOR SELECTION OF SOFTWARES

Article 9.- Ways of organizing expertise:

- Expertise at the team of experts.

- Expertise at the selection council.

- Expertise for submission to the Ministry at the State management agencies.

Article 10.- Steps of appraising softwares:

1. Units and individuals shall register their softwares with the Ministry through the Science, Technology and Product Quality Department.

2. The team of experts (defined in Article 20) shall consider and expertise each software in the following order:

+ Putting aside those softwares that fail to meet the criteria mentioned in Articles 4 and 5.

+ Organizing the expertise according to the contents in Articles 4 and 5. Experimental calculation may be conducted or consultancy companies may be hired for re-expertise.

+ Submitting the software to the council for consideration.

3. The consideration and selection council:

+ Re-examining the expertise results of the team of experts.

+ Re-expertizing the softwares (if necessary).

+ Suggesting the scope of application and grouping the softwares according to Article 3.

+ Making a written record on software expertise.

4. The State management agencies: The Science, Technology and Product Quality Department shall assume the prime responsibility together with the Capital Construction Investment Department for performing the task of reporting on the software-expertise order and results and drafting necessary documents for submission to the Ministry for approval.

Chapter IV

TRANSFER OF SOFTWARES

Article 11.- Conditions for transfer of a software include:

- The installed or set-up software and accompanying documents. The software�s documents include the written instructions on the use of the software and the explanations on its technical contents.

- The Ministry�s decision permitting the popularization of the software in the entire branch (group A softwares) or encouraging the use thereof (group B softwares).

- The contract between the software transferor and the transferee.

- The software use right certificate for the transferee.

Article 12.- Responsibilities and benefits of the transferors:

a/ Responsibilities:

- To sign transfer contracts with the users.

- To provide training as well as full and detailed instructions on the use of the softwares when installing them for the using units.

- To have contact addresses so as to answer users� queries about the transferred softwares.

- To make free-of-charge correction of errors of the transferred softwares if they are detected by the users. To provide product warranty for the software-using units for at least 12 months after the transfer thereof.

- To apply for software use right certificates for the users.

b/ Benefits:

- To enjoy the transfer remuneration under the signed contracts.

- To be provided with financial assistance from non-business scientific funding sources.

Article 13.- Responsibilities and benefits of the users:

a/ Responsibilities:

- To sign transfer contracts with the transferors.

- Each to have at least 2 persons professionally trained and well operating the transferred softwares.

- To strictly comply with the State�s regulations on copyright. Not to sell or re-transfer the softwares to other units, and to use the softwares only in service of the work of their own units.

b/ Benefits:

- To use the softwares strictly according to the signed contracts.

- To have their points added when participating in consultancy bidding for projects of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

- To have the right to request the softwares� authors to correct their errors but only to comment on the scope and calculation capability of such softwares.

Article 14.- Responsibilities of the State management agencies:

- To create favorable conditions for units to transfer and use softwares.

- To issue software use right certificates when fully receiving:

+ The software-transfer contracts

+ The payment vouchers (copy)

+ The transferors� written requests.

Article 15.- Funding for development and transfer of softwares:

The Science, Technology and Product Quality Department shall discuss and reach agreement with the concerned units on stipulations on funding for software development and the funding bracket for the transfer of each software of group A.

Chapter V

USE OF SOFTWARES

Article 16.- Stipulations on the use of group A softwares:

When using group A softwares, only input data need to be expertized while the mathematical interpretation of those softwares is not required. Such softwares are considered a property belonging to production tools of the using units and counted as extra points for the units when participating in consultancy bidding for projects of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 17.- Stipulations on the use of group B softwares:

Group B softwares shall be used as a reference document. Such softwares shall not be counted as extra points for the units when participating in consultancy bidding.

Article 18.- Stipulations on the softwares� legality upon submission of consultancy dossiers:

In their consultancy dossiers submitted to the investors, the units must clearly state the origins and copyrights of the softwares in use.

Article 19.- Stipulations on copyright when using softwares:

Units or individuals that violate the stipulations on copyright shall be held responsible before law. If they use group A and/or B softwares to create consultancy products but fail to prove the legality in those products, their dossiers, including the designing dossiers and bids, shall be considered invalid.

Chapter VI

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 20.- Stipulations on the team of experts:

The softwares expertizing experts� team shall be headed by a representative of the Science, Technology and Product Quality Department, who shall nominate the team�s members, being experts inside and outside the branch, who have experiences in the professional domains dealt with by the softwares as well as in information technology. A team of experts may expertize one or many softwares.

Article 21.- Stipulations on the expertizing council:

The expertizing council shall have its chairman being a leader of the Ministry, its vice-chairman being a leader of the Science, Technology and Product Quality Department, and its members being experts of the following units:

- The Science, Technology and Product Quality Department

- The Capital Construction Investment Department

- The Standing Board of the Ministry�s Steering Committee for Information Technology

- The Department for Water and Irrigation Works Management

- The Department for Flood and Storm Control and Dyke Management

- The Irrigation Construction Consultancy Company No.1 (HEC1)

- The Water Resource University

- The Water Resource Scientific Institute,

and representatives of a number of other units to be appointed by the chairman of the council.

The chairman (or vice-chairman when authorized) shall preside over meetings of the software-expertizing council.

Article 22.- Announcement of the lists of group A and B softwares:

Annually, the software-expertizing council shall revise the group A and B softwares being circulated and consider softwares registered for expertise. If better softwares are available, they shall replace group A softwares and the replaced ones shall turn the group B softwares.

For the replacing group A softwares, they must be improved and extended in terms of problem-solving capability and interface. Priority shall be given to those softwares compatible with the replaced ones (which can read data files of the replaced softwares).

Annually, the Ministry shall announce the list of group A softwares for the units to be aware of and follow.

Article 23.- Finance for software development activities

a/ When transferring softwares, the transferor must pay the Ministry�s scientific development fund a sum of money equivalent to 5% of the value of the transfer contract. The Finance and Accountancy Department shall have to guide the payment and use of this funding source.

b/ Funding for software development: apart from the funding source mentioned at Point (a) above, the funding for software development shall also be supplemented from:

- The scientific and technological funding annually allocated by the Ministry.

- The funding of projects with the Ministry being the body to decide the investment therein.

- The funding from financial assistance or other sources (if any).

Article 24.- The reporting regime:

Annually, from December 15 to 30, the units must report to the Ministry (through the Science, Technology and Product Quality Department) on the development, exploitation, application and plans for development, of applied softwares in their own units.

Chapter VII

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 25.- Effect of the Regulation

This Regulation takes effect 15 days after the signing of the Decision promulgating it.

Article 26.- Responsibility for implementation of the Decision

The units attached to the Ministry shall, according to their assigned functions and tasks, have to well implement this Regulation. In the course of implementation, if any article is inappropriate and needs to be amended and/or supplemented, the units should report it to the Ministry (through the Science, Technology and Product Quality Department) for consideration and decision.

For the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Vice Minister
PHAM HONG GIANG