The terms free and open-source software (Free and Open-Source Software (“FOSS” software)) are used to refer to software groups that include both freeware and open-source software (open-source), for which everyone is allowed to use, copy, examine and modify the software in any wayand whose source code is shared openly to encourage users to voluntarily improve the design of the software.
To better understand how to comply with the terms of the free software licensesthis article will clarify the basics and guide how to approach these licenses.
The basics of FOSS software licensing
To put it simply, a licence of software is a contract that governs the use and/or redistribution of the software under applicable copyright law. It states what users can or cannot do with the software from a copyright perspective (without asking for additional permission), but it may also contain additional patent and trademark terms.
In France and other European jurisdictions, copyright automatically applies to the creation of software. Thus, by default, the copyright holder exclusively retains all rights to his work. If you want to allow third parties to exercise certain rights, that’s where software licenses come in. Typically, a software license grants some or all of the following rights: use, copy, modification, distribution, and sublicense.
Free software licenses authorize the rights to use, copy, modify and/or distribute the program, including for commercial purposes. As these rights provide greater freedom to users, the term “free software” refers to the freedom to use the software, not its price. For example, the VLC media player and the Blender 3D editor allow you to use, copy, modify, distribute and sell them freely, provided you comply with the license terms. Free software generally does not require a paid license and can be used freely for any purpose.
Types of free software licenses
There are two main categories of free software licenses: licences permissives and the licences copyleft. Each category of “FOSS” license has different legal implications.
A licence permissive has only minimal restrictions on how the software may be used, modified, and distributed. This means that when users incorporate permissively licensed software into their code, users generally must provide prominent attribution and retain the copyright notice. Other than that, there are no usage limitations. Several programming languages and software libraries are subject to permissive licenses, which allow them to be integrated or linked with proprietary software. For illustration, licenses WITH, Apache et BSD are permissive licenses.
A copyleft software licensealso called protective or reciprocal, is a free software license that grants the right to freely use, copy, modify, and redistribute the software with the additional requirement that derivative works preserve the same conditions. This means that the compatibility with other licenses is very limited. Mozilla Public License, GNU General Public License (GPL) and the licences GNU are eloquent examples of copyleft licenses.
Compliance with “FOSS” licenses
Free software licenses do not imply unlimited, free use – they always have terms that users must follow, and license compliance can be difficult to understand. Here are some tips on how to comply with open source software licenses:
- Provide prominent attribution and do not alter the copyright notice
- Identify the license classification – is it permissive, copyleft or other? Pay special attention to copyleft license terms
- Pay attention to the compatibility of licenses in case several software under different licenses are used. There are many software compatibility checkers that can be used to help with this process, such as Joinup Compatibility Checker and Compare Tool.
Coders sometimes need legal advice, since proprietary software used with open-source software can become an expensive problem to solve. For future digital lawyers – whether your client wants to license their own software or comply with the terms of another license, legal certainty must be the priority.
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