Understanding Open Source Licensing

Posted on May 30, 2007 by Guy Snir
Filed Under Open Source, Enterprise |

BSD, MIT, Apache, GPL, MPL, CPL, OSL, AFL…

Understanding the variety of Open/Free Licenses available is important to many.

Developers and companies developing FLOSS products need to understand the license they are / will be using for thier software. In most cases you will preferably have a lawyer to consult with, but understanding the basics will still help.

Companies and developers of any software (FLOSS or Proprietary) integrating and utilizing FLOSS products or components into their own software must be aware of how this affects them. I know of cases where the uneducated use of FLOSS components caused delays and complications in the due diligence phase of acquisitions and mergers.

I recommend reading the book “Open Source Licensing: Software Freedom and Intellectual Property Law” by Lawrence Rosen from Rosenlaw & Einschlag (Also available online under AFL3.0).

Another book on this subject is “Understanding Open Source and Free Software Licensing” by Andrew M. St. Laurent.