Understanding Open Source Licensing: Three How-To Guides

S ince their modest beginnings in the 1980s, the free software and open source movements, represented by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the Open Source Initiative (OSI), have generated much interest and participation. The term open source generally refers to software that differs from its commercially sponsored counterpart in three ways: a collaborative production approach, community governance of production, and source code’s ready availability to prepare derivative works. Open Source Software Law, Understanding Open Source and Free Software Licensing, and Open Source Licensing consider how open source licenses resemble and differ from each other and from commercial software licenses. After researching the open source movement for five years and writing commercial software-licensing contracts for more than 15, I thought I knew a fair amount about open source licenses. These books showed how much I had to learn. The books have differing depth and breadth of coverage of the various licenses: none purports to cover all the OSI-approved licenses (55 exist as of this writing, not counting multiple versions). They also present the material differently. In an extended essay linking open source to broader software law issues, Rod Dixon briefly reviews eight licenses; an appendix excerpts and annotates 22 additional licenses (also included on a CD-ROM). Andrew St. Laurent’s reference book is almost like a Consumer Reports for license shoppers, with a Understanding Open Source Licensing: Three How-To Guides