Are open source licenses enforceable?
Because open source licenses flow directly from the author/owner to the licensee, the only party in a legal position to enforce the GPL is the author or owner of the copyright. Intermediate distributors do not have the power to enforce except with respect to any contribution they may make.
Is open source legal?
If you want others to use, distribute, modify, or contribute back to your project, you need to include an open source license. For example, someone cannot legally use any part of your GitHub project in their code, even if it’s public, unless you explicitly give them the right to do so.
Can open source software infringe patents?
A developer who has patented their open source code may technically maintain a reserved right to sue downstream users of the OSS on patent infringement. The relationship between patents, software, and open source code is not settled.
Can I sell open source software?
Absolutely. All Open Source software can be used for commercial purpose; the Open Source Definition guarantees this. You can even sell Open Source software.
Do open source projects have owners?
Actually, in the case of the open-source culture this is an easy question to answer. The owner of a software project is the person who has the exclusive right, recognized by the community at large, to distribute modified versions.
Can open source licenses be considered copyright infringement?
This case established that violations of open source licenses can be treated as copyright claims. During 2007 to 2009, Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) filed a series of copyright infringement lawsuits on behalf the principal developers of BusyBox.
What happens if you break an open-source license?
If you break an open-source license, the authors of the software would have remedies under copyright law. Should they choose to try to enforce them, the first step would be to have a lawyer send you a “cease and desist letter”. It’s then up to you to cease and desist or to argue that your use does not violate the license.
Why did SFLC Sue Verizon in 2007?
In December 2007 SFLC filed a lawsuit against Verizon Communications, Inc. alleging that Verizon had violated the GPL by distributing BusyBox in wireless routers bundled with the FiOS fiber optic bandwidth service, without providing corresponding source code.
Is Jacobsen’s code open source?
Jacobsen made code available for public download under an open source public license, Artistic License 1.0, which Katzer copied into their own commercial software products without recognition of the source of the code.