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Introduction by USLawforNordics
Open source software is more popular than ever. Before you use it in your company, however, there are a few things you need to know. As always, it´s better you have your open source strategy ready BEFORE you have started using it – in certain cases, it will be too late once you´ve used the first line of code.
Is open source software safe for my company to use? Often, yes, but “safe” ultimately depends on your goals and use case for open source software. You should pay attention to the terms of the specific open source software license and the manner in which your company uses or distributes the software component.
It is important to comply with the license obligations for each piece of open source software that you use. It is relatively easy to comply with some licenses, while others may pose risks to your company’s intellectual property or your ability to monetize your proprietary software.
There are few limits on what can be included in an open source license, and some components include odd requirements, such as a request to buy the creator a beer, or to use the software for “Good, not Evil.”
A commonly cited risk associated with use of open source software is the “copyleft” effect, which requires you to distribute any software you create that incorporates the open source components on the same open source terms. This may or may not be a problem for your organization, depending on your goals.
However, there are a number of other risks to consider when using open source. Most open source software is provided without warranties or indemnities of any kind, which are typically present in a commercial license agreement. In addition, you should consider the impact on your patent portfolio and licensing program. Use of open source software also may have implications for security, export control, and compliance issues. Your company’s use of open source may also be subject to intense scrutiny in a liquidity event, such as a merger, acquisition, or IPO.
That being said, when these risks are taken into account and effectively managed, there are many benefits to using open source software. Using open source components can significantly reduce the cost and time to market in your products. The wide network of developers accessing the code often improves the changes of identifying and fixing bugs.
Many open source components are widely adopted in the industry, decreasing ramp-up time for new engineers already familiar with the codebase, and also
Written by Alan Ezekiel, John McGaraghan, Blair Nelson and Manja Sachet
