Open Source Licensing: What do I need to know?

Presenters: marcjones

In this session we are going to talk open source licensing and what everyone who is involved in the development of open source software should know. The focus will be on general open source licensing concepts relevant to anyone involved in the production or creation of free and open source software. We will explore the basic legal concepts that relate to open source software, such as copyright and contributor agreements. We also dig into key free and open source licensing concepts that are required for understanding how to use free and open source software, including license compatibility and copyleft. We might even talk about exciting topics like the proper format for a copyright notice, and why it doesn't really matter.

Special focus will also be paid to developing a basic understanding of the Gnu General Public License (GPLv2 or later); the most popular free and open source license and the license used by Drupal. Since this DrupalGovCon we will also give brief updates on the latest developments by governments' use of free software licensing.

In this presentation we will talk about:

  • What is free and open source software
  • What is the difference between copyleft and permissive licensing

  • How to license your software

  • How to choose a license

  • How to add copyright and licensing notices

  • The difference between the DCO and a contributor agreement (and why they matter)

  • License compatibility

  • We also briefly mention related licensing schemes such as Creative Commons and open data licensing

This presentation will be appropriate for software developers, UX designers, and technology managers who use or what to use free and open source software.

Your presenters is Marc Jones a practicing attorney who has been advising software developers on free and open source licensing for over 7 years.

Audience
Experience Level
Beginner
Schedule Info
Conference Year
2018
Status
Proposed
Session Track
Community and Being Human