This Practice Note is a ‘how to’ guide on using open source software as part of your business, and considers the implications businesses may face when using such software. It includes a summary of what open source software is, how it is used and the requirements for its use. It also covers additional legal considerations businesses should take into account when considering using open source software.
This guide is approached from the perspective of a business seeking to use existing open source software.
For further information on open source software, see the following Practice Notes:
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Free and open source software
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Free and open source software—strategy and policy
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Free and open source software—audits
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Free and open source software—public sector
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GNU General Public License (GPL) 2.0—commentary
What is open source software?
Broadly speaking, open source software is a collective name for software:
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which is made available under a licence that grants a right to use, modify, and/or distribute the software (as either the original or a modified version) free of charge or royalty, and
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to
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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Related legal acts:
Key definition:
Open source software definition
What does Open source software mean?
Software distributed in such a way that the source code is freely available, and may be modified, run, adapted, compiled and distributed is called open source software. Generally, open source software is available at minimal or no cost. A commonly agreed definition of open source software has been developed by the Open Source Initiative.
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