Frequently Asked Questions - Open Source Software in Business Use:
(See the glossary, if open source is a new to you.)
- Open Source - Why Would We Want to Use It? / What Benefit It Has to a Company?
- Where Can Open Source Software be Found / Who Makes Them? Why are They made?
- What is Open Source? Is this a New Thing?
- Which are Well-known Open Source Projects? Where are They Used?
- Can We Download an Open Source Software from the Intenet? How/Why?
- What kind of Conditions Apply to Open Source Software? What are Licenses?
- Can We Modify OS Software?
- Can We Distribute OS Software to Our Clients?
- Will Our Software Products Convert to Open Source When We Use Open Source Software?
- Will Our Software Products Convert to Open Source When We Distribute OS Software with Our Product?
- Can We Ask a Fee from Our Product when it Includes OS Software?
- Can We Offer Services to Our Clients on the Internet if We Use OS Software?
- Can We Use OS Software Commercially?
- What Risks the Use of OS Software Includes?
- Where We Can Get More Information about OS Software and Licenses?
- Why Shouldn't We Exploit OS Software?
Open Source - Why Would We Want to Use It? / What Benefit It Has to a Company
Open source is used to accelerate and improve product development and lower the level of costs: rationalizing product development. End user companies use open source as an easy and cheap way to attain software, that is to lower costs and rationalize operations.
Depending on the situation, aforementioned objectives become materialized in different ways. However, the main idea behind open source is that when something is already invented it is not worthwhile to do it again if it is already openly available.
There is enormous amount of open source software packages (plenty of good ones, plenty of bad ones). Sourceforge alone has over 150.000 different projects (5.9.2009).
Where Can Open Source Software be Found / Who Makes Them? Why are They made?
In addition to the search engines (Google etc.) internet repositories are in practice best way to find open source software. Well-known indexes are for example http://www.sourceforge.net/, https://launchpad.net/ and http://www.eosdirectory.com/. Creators of open source software vary from software made by large-scale enterprises to projects run by foundations and all the way to tool programs developed by a single programmer for their own needs. Often open source software projects start when there is no ready-made adequate software for a certain purpose.
The motive of open source developers can be to solve their own problem, to gain reputation, contribute to public good and making product development more efficient by open method, business opportunities and many other reasons.
What is Open Source? Is this a New Thing?
Open source stands for a software which is published under a so-called open source license. The licenses fo these software allow copying, modifying and redistributing of the software quite freely. Open Source Initiative (OSI) maintains a definition about open source.
Open source stands for a software which is published under a so-called open source license. This type licenses allow copying, modifying and redistributing of the software quite freely. Open Source Initiative (OSI) maintains the open source definition.
The definition of open source was created in 1998 but the use of open/free software is older phenomenon. GNU project of Free Software Foundation recently reached 25-year age.
Which are Well-known Open Source Projects? Where are They Used?
The best-known and most significant open source software are for example numerous different distributions of Linux operating system (sometimes referred as GNU/Linux), Apache webserver software, MySQL database and Firefox intenet browser. The purpose of open source software is often related to internet. Millions of web sites aroud the globe store their information in a MySQL database and operate on Apache web servers which are installed on different kinds of Linux based systems.
Can We Download an Open Source Software from the Intenet? How/Why?
Yes, you can. Part of the idea and definition of the open source is free distribution of software. This is why open source software can usually always be downloaded from the Internet, depending from for example who has made the modified version.
The main principle is that open source software and project is that much more famous and often also better, how much more people use it. Popular project gets more feedback, more people get interested about it, it's continuity is secured, service providing (free and chargeable) forms around it, etc.
What kind of Conditions Apply to Open Source Software? What are Licenses?
Open source software is always licensed with some license, that is to say, set of conditions, which govern the modification, copying, using and redistributing. Usually these license clauses are the only conditions which regulate use of the software.
Because programs are often build on existing softrware components or are developed from them, open source software is often covered by more than one license. These licenses form an entity which governs the use of the software. Unfortunately licensing of open source projects is not always well administered or represented. Reviewing licensing of open source packages is the main task that Validos does on behalf of the member companies.
Open source licenses contain different type of license clauses. However, open source licenses that are accordance with the open source definition always offer following liberties:
- freedom to use the software to any purpose
- freedom to make copies of the software and distribute those (for a fee or without a fee),
- freedom to modify software and redistribute modified versions and
- freedom to distribute open source software with other software.
In relation to redistribution there are often clauses which require that when redistributing, the original license conditions must be adhered.
Can We Modify OS Software?
Yes, you can. This is possibly the single most important quality of open source software.
Can We Distribute OS Software to Our Clients?
Yes. Open source does not set any limitations to that. However, you should check from your client contracts the possible limitations and responsibilities and how the licenses of the software in question fit into your business operations.
Will Our Software Products Convert to Open Source when We Use Open Source Software?
No, they wont. The use of open source software inside a company never leads to such a result. If you mean distribution for your clients instead of use, see next answer.
Will Our Software Products Convert to Open Source When We Distribute OS Software with Our Product?
No, they won't without your own desicion (but read this answer through). Distributing open source software to your clients must be planned carefully, and with special caution if your company has a proprietary licensed software products. Some licenses have so-called copyleft-clauses which require that any modifications and additions made to the licensed software must be licensed under the same conditions, than the original program, when redistributed. Even if a software product of a company would be distributed with a copyleft-licensed software, this license term doesn't apply to the software of the company by itself(*).
Instead, license terms of a software under a copyleft-clause might be infringed, which can lead to, among other things, termination of the license of the software, thus resulting in a copyright infringement (if the infringement has been deliberate also penal sanctions may be applicable in some countries, including Finland)
It is a common misunderstanding that software which is under the GNU GPL (the most common open source license) would automaticly "infect" commercial software products . Nevertheles, GPL does not include any automatic infection mechanism.(*) Instead, it contains an obligation that in certain situations your company should license a software, which is under the GPL lisence and the whole entity that is been distributed with it, under GPL license. If somebody considers that you have interpreted this clause erroneously and you have not licenced the whole entity with GPL, your own sorfware has not become licensed with GPL ( you may have infringed the clauses of the GPL license which can lead, among other things, to expiration of the rights you gained from GPL license).
As said, licensing your product with GPL or with any other conditions is your decision and GPL or any other license that we know does not "infect" your product automatically(*). However, distributing proprietary software and software under GPL to your clients is not always possible and must in any case be planned very carefully so that you act properly and minimize related risks.
Also, it is worth to note, that there are vast amounts of useful open source programs/components that can be distributed without this kind of restrictions.
(*) Any cases (globally) have not come to our attention in which there would have been even a claim that GPL or corresponding license would have "infected" automatically proprietary software. In court cases the demands have been "comply with the rules of GPL or stop distributing the software" type. This naturally does not exclude possibility that some court could take another (what we consider clearly incorrect) stand.
Can We Ask a Free from Our Product when it Includes OS Software?
Many open source licenses enable combining of open source code into part of a proprietary software without having an effect to your revenue model. Any open source licenses do not prevent collecting fees from the software as such, but licenses that include so called copyleft-clause may in some cases in practice prevent the revenue model that is based on proprietary software licensing.
Attaching open source into your product must be planned carefully especially when the software in question has been licensed partially or in whole with license that includes a copyleft-clause.
Can We Offer Services to Our Clients on the Internet if We Use OS Software? How about if We Use Also Our Own Proprietary Products with OS Software? What does Service Providing on the Internet Mean?
Service providing on the Internet means a situation in which the actual data processing is done by the server and software of the service provider, and the customer gets only the outcome of the service. Typical example of the service on the Internet is Google search engine: a client uses the user interface with her Internet browser but the actual data processing is done in Google server central with software and hardware that are completely out of the users control.
From the viewpoint of nearly all open source licenses, service providing on the Internet is parallel to internal use by a company. The company uses software and the customers do not have acces to program code or can not control the running of the programs. Clients only use the user interface of the software. That is why this kind of use is usually quite free. The best known exception is Affero GPL license, the terms of which parallel service providing with distributing.
Can we use OS Software Commercially?
Commercial use of software is a rather vague term. Commercial use can be understood to include all use by company (wide interpretation) or only copying and distributing software for a fee (narrow interpretation) or everything possible in between these definitions. In Validos we speak of proprietary use which covers all possible use of a software by a company.
Open source code can be used in proprietary use (and in every possible commercial use). Open source definition includes that the purpose of use of the software can not be basis for discrimination. However, there are also software loadable from the Internet under terms that restrict commercial use in different ways: this kind of software is not licensed in accordance with open source definition. In both situations the terms of use of the software should be known well in order to comply with them.
What Risks the Use of OS Software Includes?
The risks relating to open source software are basically same kind than in any other software. They can relate to functioning of the software, security vulnerabilities, availability of support, compatibility of files and formats or to legal issues. The significance of the risk varies from project to project (just like in proprietary software): some are better, some are worse.
One special risk is related to open source community: if a company infringes license conditions of a software or in other way goes against the community, community may react against the company. The community may include employees of the company, employees of clients or suppliers and any other active participants of open source community. Negative perception of a open source community can lead to negative publicity against the company. However, our conseption is that many active members of the community try to sort out possible complications directly with the companies.
On the other hand, open source software often includes less risks than closed source: when using open source code a company is not so dependant from the suppliers, it is possible to alter or fix the software and the supplier can be replaced. In addition open source software is almost always easier to test and inspect in advance, before making the decision whether to deploy it or not.
Perhaps the most significant legal risks relate to the compliance of the licence clauses: how the software has been licensed, what different licensing options it includes and on which conditions a certain part of software can be used. When the licensing is clear it can be asked whether we can attach the software to our own software products, can we distribute the component to our clients, how the distribution must be made, do we have to license all the alterations we have made with a certain license, do we have to grant a patent license for the alterations and so on. If you distribute an open source software without complying with the applicable license conditions, the result is probably at least a copyright infringement. See also answer to question about whether your products transform to open source code.
If you have committed yourself strictly (commercially or technically) to some software which is under the GPL and you distribute this software as a whole with your closed source software, you may end (depending on the situation) up infringing the conditions of the GPL license. In a case like this, the copyright holder of the GPL licensed software, may issue legal demands to you (for example, "comply with the GPL or stop distributing"), which may result in a situation where you for business reasons prefer to keep distributing the GPL software and decide to distribute your own software under the GPL in the future, rather than quit distributing the whole. This may happen when replacing or removing the GPL software is too difficult or in other ways disadvantageous.
Where We Can Get More Information about OS Software and Licenses?
Finnish sources:
- www.validos.org - site (ie. this site)
- www.coss.fi - site of the COSS, see OS ABC and
- os.hhpartners.fi - here, among other things, license analysis made by students.
Validos validates, i.e. reviews whether the interesting software packages are suitable for proprietary use, on behalf of its member companies. If you need legal advice in relation to some individual situation or more detailed legal consultation you should specialized law firm. Service provider of Validos is HH Partners, which also serves companies more generally. COSS has a License Helpdesk which is meant for its members. Helpdesk counsels members of COSS in relation to open source licenses.
English sources:
- www.opensource.org/faq - frequently asked questions about open source,
- opensource.mit.edu - scientific open source article and publication list of MIT and
- www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html - frequently asked questions about the licenses of the GNU project.
Why Shouldn't We Exploit OS Software?
Yes, why shouldn't you? Certain big projects like Apache http server is quite difficult to avoid when operating on software business. If you really do not use any open source code it may be time to change direction. Your clients would probably want more affordable, faster and/or better products/projects.
On the other hand, there is always different situations and there is never only one answer. It is not unusual that your client has forbid you to use open source code. It may also be that you can't find a open source project that suits your specific need. Or it may be that software that is in other ways suitable is licensed in a way that is not convenient for you, or that licensing is so tangled that the software of the project at issue is not wanted as a part of product because of the possible risks. In that case that particular project is not suitable for you but some other may be.
It has also been said that open source management is more costly to the company than the presumed freeness. It is true that a company must use resources to the management of open source software and they can not be taken into use completely without consideration. Validos is from its part an answer to this critique: Validos facilitates open source managemant, implementation and lowers the costs of the management because many companies participate into the costs and share the results. Validos makes wider use of open source software possible because, among other things, validations may have already be done, which makes the decicions about using open source are easier (there is no need to wait the validation process to be completed). In addition Validos offers possibility to learn about open source from others who are in similar situations.
We can not find any reason to completely dismiss open source.
Validos - a new way to deploy open source!
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