Introduction to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) Licenses

© 2013 nexB Inc.

© 2013 nexB Inc.

Introduction to FOSS Licenses Agenda •  Software License Definitions •  Software License Issues •  About nexB

© 2013 nexB Inc.

Introduction to FOSS Licenses Definitions – FOSS Licenses •  FOSS = Free and Open Source Software

–  aka FLOSS = Free/Libre Open Source Software •  Free means you have the right to study, use,

change and redistribute the software •  Open Source means you have access to the

source code –  Open Source also refers to a collaborative software

development approach •  Examples of common FOSS licenses are: BSD,

GPL, LGPL, MIT and MPL

© 2013 nexB Inc.

Introduction to FOSS Licenses Free Software licenses

source code available

source with limitations

(Proprietary)

Copyleft

FOSS

Attribution

Binary-only (Proprietary)

Free Software

Freeware / Shareware

many Java libraries

Microsoft shared source

Sun SCSL

GNU GPL

GNU LGPL

MPL CDDL

BSD MIT

Apache EPL

Adobe Reader

© 2013 nexB Inc.

Introduction to FOSS Licenses Definitions - Free Proprietary Licenses •  Free Proprietary software is very important in

many domains especially Java: –  The software is free for your own use AND –  You may be able to redistribute the software, BUT –  You cannot change it AND there may be other

restrictions •  Some examples of free proprietary licenses:

–  (Oracle)Sun Binary Code Licenses (esp. for JDK/JRE) –  Adobe Reader EULA and similar –  Oracle Technology Network Development and

Distribution License Terms

© 2013 nexB Inc.

Introduction to FOSS Licenses FOSS License Obligations Attribution Obligations are typically a combination of: •  Keeping license and copyright notices in the source code

in the source file headers or in separate text files. •  Acknowledging the use of the software, the license and/or

the copyright in documentation or a product (e.g. Help) Redistribution Obligations are typically a combination of: •  Making source code available for the original work, and •  For your changes (derivative works) – •  Possibly Including some of your proprietary code.

© 2013 nexB Inc.

Introduction to FOSS Licenses FOSS – Permissive / Attribution Licenses

Licenses with Attribution obligations only •  Apache 1.1 and 2.0 •  BSD – Original, Modified and Simplified •  MIT / X11 •  Creative Commons Attribution •  OpenSSL-SSLeay •  W3C •  Zlib

and, of course, Beerware

© 2013 nexB Inc.

Introduction to FOSS Licenses FOSS – Copyleft Licenses

Copyleft licenses have Attribution and Redistribution obligations •  Copyleft Licenses (“strong”)

–  GNU General Public License (GPL) –  Affero GPL

•  Limited Copyleft Licenses (“weak”) –  GNU Lesser (or Library) General Public License (LGPL) –  Artistic License –  Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) –  Common Public License (CPL) –  Eclipse Public License (EPL) –  Mozilla Public License (MPL)

© 2013 nexB Inc.

Introduction to FOSS Licenses FOSS License Violation Risks •  “Copyleft” licenses require you to redistribute source code

and may force you to release proprietary software as open source or rewrite your software to avoid that obligation

•  Some FOSS activists (e.g. Busybox) are raising litigation stakes to “encourage” compliance with GPL

•  Even “business-friendly” licenses (Apache, etc.) require you to identify and protect copyright owner rights and may impact your patent portfolio

•  Negative reaction from OSS community may impair your brand

© 2013 nexB Inc.

Introduction to FOSS Licenses Proprietary License Violation Risks •  Violation of a free proprietary software license may require

you to acquire a commercial license and/or change your code: –  Most prominent example is misuse of Sun JDK/JRE in violation of

the field-of-use restrictions (general purpose computer only) –  Oracle is aggressively looking for revenue from the Java products it

acquired –  Including compensation for violations in the past

•  Violation of a commercial software license may expose you to significant financial penalties and/or litigation

© 2013 nexB Inc.

Introduction to FOSS Licenses About nexB •  Our mission is to enable a robust software component-

based supply chain •  Our current focus is:

–  Analysing software provenance (origin and license) and –  Providing a complete software inventory/BOM –  DejaCode Enterprise, a product suite that helps you better

manage open source, third-party, and original components throughout the software development lifecycle

•  Expertise in software IP analysis across all languages and environments

•  Software audit services for acquisitions, software products and internal (IT) systems

•  Active open source developers - lead committers and contributors to public projects

© 2013 nexB Inc.

Introduction to FOSS Licenses Contact us Contact person:

Pierre Lapointe, Customer Care Manager plapointe@nexb.com + 1 415 287-7643

More information:

http://www.nexb.com http://www.dejacode.com/