Open source software is more than simply software for which the underlying humanreadable code had been made available to the public. Business license software for local government govsense. Is the solutions licence acceptable to your organisations business requirements. There are licenses accepted by the osi which are not free as per the free software definition. How to choose the best license for your open source software project getting the right license for your open source project can mean the difference between success and failure for your software. The open source software definition is used by the open source initiative osi to determine whether a software license qualifies for the organizations insignia for open source software. Many local, regional, and national governments are engaged with open source software and communities. The uk government licensing framework ukglf provides a policy and legal overview of the arrangements for licensing the use and reuse of public sector information, both in central government and the wider public sector. The open source siren song or an alternative to proprietary software. Some examples of how government has addressed open licensing questions. Open source licenses are a straightforward intellectual property license with one unique feature.
Top 10 open source software licenses of 2016 and key trends. Below are only a few resources that may help departments and agencies understand the value of open source software. This can make it difficult to attach an open source license to our code. Comparison of free and opensource software licenses. Open source software and the department of defense. Agencies combine modular and reusable components of software and open data to deliver digital government services to citizens more quickly and iteratively improve them over time 6. Many governments, international nonprofit organizations, multinational corporations and global open source communities rely on the osi, the osd, and osi approved open source licenses. Opensource licenses that explicitly prohibit military. Us government now has an official open source software policy. The coalition government believes open source software can potentially deliver significant short and long term cost savings across government it. Open source software faq dod cio department of defense.
Can government use a gnu gpl licensed sofware phpbb without posting the source code. Typical benefits of open source software include lower procurement prices, no license costs, interoperability, easier integration and customisation, fewer barriers to reuse, conformance to open. In short, once the government has unlimited rights, it has essentially the same rights as a holder, and can then use those rights to release that software under a variety of conditions including an open source software license, because it has the use and modify the software. This option gives your organization the rights to run the software throughout your organization only during the term of the agreement with microsoft.
When used in conjunction with compulsory open standards, open source presents significant opportunities for the design and delivery of interoperable solutions. The joint work can be released under an open source license, and the government is not obligated to go out of its way to annotate which sections are public domain vs. What license should the government or contractor chooseselect when releasing open source software. Furthermore, open source software can support the digital government. To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on. Microsoft open programs microsoft volume licensing. Government software acquisition policies dfars and. The ceara government migration project to open source software was already presented in other states and is serving as a model for other governments. The administration made a commitment, as part of its second open government national action plan, 17 to develop an open source software policy that, together with the digital services playbook, will support improved access to custom software code developed for the federal government. This can be a problem for companies that intend the software to be licensable under a proprietary license.
How to apply an open source license to a us government. Licensing software that supports the needs of both citizens and internal staff for every type of license request no matter what type of license needs processing alcohol, business, trade, professional, occupational tax, etc. The comparison only covers software licenses with a linked article for details, approved by at least one expert group at the fsf, the osi, the debian project or the fedora project. How open source fits into government it strategy where appropriate, government will procure open source solutions. Open value subscription provides the lowest upfront costs of the open program options with the flexibility to reduce the total licensing costs in years when the desktop pc count declines. Suggested readings for government staff new to free and open source software. How to choose the best license for your open source. We discussed a precedent that support the adoption of a default open licensing policy for software.
Licensing policies, principles, and resources project open data. Our company, ivia, helped the government of the state of ceara to develop its government websites using open source. Whether creating new software or building on existing code, a flexible approach to licensing. Achieving efficiency, transparency, and innovation through reusable and open source software. Thus, im rather looking for a license that is like an open source license. Everything a government attorney needs to know about open. Guidance clarifying how existing law and regulations apply to the use and publication of open source software oss developed at the department of defense. In this interview with david wheeler, we explore the current state of use of open source software by the u. Given the goal to create a collaborativelydeveloped software product, opensource software licensing can provide clear and effective rulesofengagement that protect the interests of all participating stakeholders. Fsfs free software and osis opensource licenses together are called foss licenses.
Government is committed to improving the way federal agencies buy, build, and deliver information technology it and software solutions to better support cost efficiency, mission effectiveness, and the consumer. I was also concerned about it allowing software developed by federal government employees to be locked up by a license something that im. Interview with david wheeler on open source in government. This is a comparison of free and open source software licenses. The definition was based on the debian free software. Based on the unique concept of identitybased licensing, our cloudbased licensing solution provides advanced features in regard to both authentication and licensing. Licensing framework open government licence open software licences. Along with the code comes an intellectual property license grant, a legal framework which government. The mood in governments around the world has swung behind open source and open standards, but the shift is. Use free and open source software foss, which is software that does not charge users a purchase or licensing fee for modifying or redistributing the source. The defense digital service dds has been working with dod and the open source community since early 2017 to develop a guideline for supporting open source software.
Licensing policies, principles, and resources project. This option gives your organization the rights to run the software. Some licenses require that any software that is a derivative of or based on open source code must be licensed under the terms of the open source license. The mit license is a permissive free software license originating at the massachusetts institute of technology mit in the late 1980s. As an example, disa signed a crada with the nonprofit open source software institute to enhance the publicdomain cmis and release it as the open source.
One of the tools provided by the programme is the nzgoal framework covering creative commons licensing of information and data sets to make it reusable. Frequently asked questions regarding open source software oss and the department of defense dod this page is an educational resource for government employees and government contractors to understand the policies and legal issues relating to the use of open source software oss in the department of defense dod. Open software licences reusing psi the national archives. These align with the digital standards and the requirement in c. Government departments and other public sector bodies that are involved in developing their own software are encouraged to make their software and source code available as openly as possible.
As a permissive license, it puts only very limited restriction on reuse and has, therefore, high license compatibility it is compatible because it can be relicensed under other licenses. License grant what can the government do with the computer software and computer software documentation. Open source comes with unusual license restrictions that may impact a companys strategies, particularly the risk that its own proprietary software may be tainted by a duty to open its source. Everything a government attorney needs to know about open source. Government software development and make the government more open. Can the government release software under an open source. Commercialoffthe shelf cots government offthe shelf gots open source solution long v. Use of open source software by the brazilian government. The open source initiative osi, open source definition osd and osi approved open source licenses are internationally recognized, and affirmed by the worlds leading open source software projects and companies.
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