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August 24, 2007
Open Source licence proliferation could threaten business IT
Are CIOs and IT directors turning a blind eye to new risks?
By ComputerWorld UK reporter
Business users of open source software should review their Open Source licensing agreements, audit their use of Open Source and create formal policies for managing source code, especially mixed-source code.
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The effective end of SCO’s attempts to prove its ownership of parts of the Linux code is not the end of licensing issue surrounding open source in the enterprise.
That is the warning of analyst group Saugatuck Technology, which has found the rapid proliferation of open source software in the enterprise is being mirrored by an explosion in open source licensing types.
This has the potential to present major management problems, Saugatuck warned.
“Given that one of the top four reasons given by user executives (especially SMEs) for adopting Open Source software is the ‘Ability to adapt and refine source code,’ the likelihood of user enterprises violating or impinging upon multiple license terms increases.
Most IT directors and CIOs, as well as executives at vendor companies, think of open source licensing as GPL, BSD and perhaps one or two others, but Saugatuck has found there are more than 1,000 types of open source licences. “That number is likely to increase - as are the complexities of the licences themselves, and the issues regarding licence compliance.”
Saugatuck predicts open source licensing to extend into multiple formats, to the point where “we will see users of a single solution from one vendor that contains open source code from multiple vendors being required to comply with multiple licensing terms simultaneously.”
This issue has been highlighted in some open source discussion forums, but it is largely being ignored by IT and business leaders.
In the longer term – after 2010 – the analyst thinks that the open source community will be able to “bring vendors and users back into a more cohesive community”. But the short term outlook for end users still looks “extremely messy”.
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Comments received
Lynn said on Friday, 24 August 2007
Software audits with compliance oversight have always been a good idea, no question of that.
Now that a scam to keep a company alive by making false copyright claims has been laid to rest we should be more careful? Well, it didn't work though. But it never hurts to have the point raised in a context where thoughts of carrying it out successfully to defend your policies and practices might be acted on. So for that I commend you for bringing it up at this time.
Tony Judge said on Friday, 24 August 2007
The research points ot a legitimate concern for IT managers. Why not use the victory over SCO to have a real drive to get the licensing house in order - we have the high ground.
Jibbidy said on Friday, 24 August 2007
Really the number of OSS licenses out there is of little concern to businesses who only _use_ the software. The vast majority of OSS licenses only cover distribution of software, not use.
What businesses need to worry about are the abusive EULAs attached to many (if not all) proprietary products.
This reads like a bit of a FUD article to be honest: unless a business is distributing Free/Open Source Software it need not concern itself with this issue.
bn said on Saturday, 25 August 2007
"unless a business is distributing Free/Open Source Software it need not concern itself with this issue." -- Correct to a point, in that an organization can not really take advantage of what is possible using Open Source unless it pretty much tracks all aspects including licenses. But the central point is well made -- there is no exposure unless you're building products around OS software and then trying to resell it under terms that violate whichever license you got the OS under.
gk said on Saturday, 25 August 2007
Jibbidy is absolulety correct. This 'analyst' finds are more FUD than any other thing.
Why there is no questioning to the EULA contract that a user of proprietary software is forced to accept specially for the overpriced, incompatible with industry standards MS products that are shoved down the users throats.
For virtually any other products in the markets where there is choice, a product with an attached contract like the EULA will put it out the market almost immediately, and on the other hand such a contract may prove even to be illegal, as all the responsibilities are shoved to the buyer, none to the seller. There is no responsibility whatsoever for quality, even when the product is obviously sloppy as many MS product had proven to be.
And now that the SCO scam was put to rest, rather than going after the EULA scam, we need to worry about the multiple OSS licenses, yea right, give me a break !
IP issues could be a bigger concern at some sites said on Wednesday, 29 August 2007
If you are using Open Source for in-house development of a bespoke solution then one of the key issues to be concerned about relates to the Intellectual Property "ownership" around your software development/enhancements as you are required to re-contribute Open Source code back into the OS community.
I wrote a whitepaper about this issue for the auditing community in 2004 on Open Source software development called "Is Your IP Leaking".
Some might see this also as FUD, but it does raise an issue that many have ignored or not paid attention to and this has management implications at some sites that are difficult to control.
Did we offer a solution? No. But we offered a different perspective to consider.
Rob Harmer
www.pcprofile.com