Why are OSS licensing terms important?
OSS licensing terms and Ethereum
Advantages and disadvantages of using OSS
Comment
Open-source software (OSS) has underpinned the success of blockchain technologies like Ethereum, which supports one of the highest cryptocurrencies by market cap as well as a growing ecosystem of smart contracts solutions and decentralised apps. Those who develop or deploy software protocols using blockchain technologies like Ethereum need to be aware of the commercial and legal implications associated with the OSS licensing terms underpinning them.
Why are OSS licensing terms important?
Before looking closer at Ethereum, here is a summary of OSS considerations:
- OSS is software licensed with:
- its source code included; and
- the right to modify and distribute the software.
- Software developers typically have two key concerns regarding using OSS:
- its level of security (given that OSS source code is widely available); and
- whether it is restrictive, copyleft or “viral” OSS.
- Whether OSS is permissive or restrictive depends on its terms:
- Permissive OSS licences permit a licensee to freely change OSS code and combine OSS code with other software code (a “derivative software”) without placing restrictions (or any significant restrictions) on the derivative software and how it may be subsequently licensed.
- Restrictive, or copyleft, OSS licences impose licensing restrictions to both using the original OSS code and any derivative software. Developers of derivative software subject to restrictive or copyleft OSS provisions must allow anyone to view and use the source code of derivative software under the licensing terms governing the OSS used to create the derivative software. Copyleft licences are therefore sometimes called “viral OSS” because they have the potential to infect any new code developed, which could restrict the basis on which the new code can be distributed. For this reason, developers and tech companies may prefer avoiding restrictive OSS and therefore…
