Software innovation is a driving force for economic, social, and technological progress. Allowing multiple software development, business, and licensing models to compete on their merits is the best way to promote software innovation, and ensure that customers - both private and public - have a range of choices in their software procurement decisions.

Lately, concerns have emerged that policy makers, through government procurement policies, research funding or standards efforts, may seek to favor one software development model over another.

To ensure innovation and improvements in software development, we encourage governments to consider four neutral principles supported by CompTIA and other members of the Initiative for Software Choice:

• Procure software on its merits, not through categorical preferences
• Promote broad availability of government funded research
• Promote interoperability through platform-neutral standards
• Maintain a choice of strong intellectual property protections