The recent press has shown a great interest in the open source movement. For instance, Oracle announced in February 2006 the addition of the Berkeley DB to its embedded database product line with the purchase of SleepyCat Software.
Open source has allowed companies to obtain the basics for product development by obtaining free product, access to source code for modifications that suit tailored needs, and collaboration with a community to improve and debug products.
With this interest in open source, it is wise for companies to establish policies regarding the use of open source in order to maximize the benefits of using open source products and at the same time minimize the risks of having to release the company’s own intellectual property.
The following is a checklist, not meant to be exhaustive, but an overview of the procedures and issues considered when using open source. In the event, a reader is considering use of open source, consultation with counsel is recommended.
1. Establish a policy regarding the use of open source. When should open source be used? Only for internal development or for inclusion with products shipped to customers?
2. If the code will be included in a product for shipment, review license agreements in order to determine whether a company’s own proprietary source code must be disclosed in the process of using open source. Become familiar with license types including: Apache, BSD, LGPL, GNU GPL, MIT License.
3. Comply with copyright and other notice, marketing, attribution requirements.
4. Keep a database to track which products contain open source, the types of licenses, and how those products are shipped to customers.
5. If open source is used within a product, is the open source used directly in the code or linked?
6. How reliable is the author of the open source in terms of licensing code that does not infringe third party intellectual property rights?
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