Open Source License Compliance¶
Introduction¶
Open source software, documentation, and other content is made publicly available for any recipients to use as they see fit. Open source software licenses “allow software to be freely used, modified, and shared”.
However, in exchange for these broad rights, most open source licenses include conditions that the recipient must follow. The process of making sure that you follow these requirements is called “license compliance”.
Whether you are an individual, a company, or an open source community, license compliance is a key consideration in how you use and consume open source materials.
Open source license compliance is a complex topic. It inherently involves making decisions based on a variety of factors and stakeholders, such as:
engineering: Which open source components are we leveraging? How do we use them? Which licenses apply to them?
legal: What does each license require? How do we interpret ambiguities?
business: How do we incorporate compliance steps into our overall business activities?
There is no single license compliance process that applies to all businesses and organizations. Each will develop and evolve its own processes over time in consultation with its own stakeholders.
The following links and pages provide suggestions and many resources for individuals, projects, and organizations to consider for your own license compliance process.
Quick Reference Guide¶
The Linux Foundation has published a Quick Reference Guide for open source license best practices, together with a one-page summary PDF.
Compliance Process for Developers¶
A sample license compliance process for developers, including a general framework and starting points for tooling, is available here.
Glossary¶
A glossary with definitions for terms relating to license compliance is available here.
Resources¶
Links to additional resources from the LF and others about license compliance are available here.
