Open Source Licenses: Hazards and Opportunities
Keeping Your Business Open in an Open Source Environment: Navigating the Hazards and Opportunities of Open Source
This presentation will provide an overview of some of the key provisions of open source licenses and examine their potential impact on technology companies. Impact will depend critically on how the company uses and incorporates the open source software into its own proprietary technology. Without careful guidelines on use of open source software and participation in open source forums, a company can unintentionally forfeit its proprietary rights to key technology assets. Incorporating software drawn from unknown sources into the company’s technology can interfere with future sale of the technology. Additional risks include lack of warranties, indemnities, and technical support. Failure to participate in open source communities, on the other hand, can be a competitive disadvantage to a company that would otherwise benefit from the free use of third party software, the willingness of open source programmers to invest their time and knowledge into development of the company’s software, and the goodwill often associated with participation in open source communities. We will highlight key legal issues that should inform a company’s overall licensing strategy, both as a user and as a contributor of open source software.
In addition, the presentation will encourage discussion as to whether the open source model, in its current stage of evolution, is the best way to foster technology "openness" and growth. The sustainability of open source as a vehicle for growth will depend in part on the ability of technology companies to develop viable and profitable business models in the open source environment. The confusion introduced by the proliferation of open source type licenses, failure to address the very different needs and objectives of players in the software arena, and the consequences associated with use may shut companies out of technology that they otherwise would like to use, and pressure to make software "open source" could increase the reluctance of software companies to invest in research and development. These issues need to be addressed through changes in business models and/or changes in the structure of open source licensing.
Liza Vertinsky
Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks
Liza Vertinsky is a member of the Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Transactions Practice Groups. She practices primarily in the area of intellectual property transactions, focusing on licensing, contracts and agreements, and technology development and transfer counseling. In addition to her experience with life science, biotechnology, and university clients, Liza has worked with companies in the computer hardware, software, and media industries.