Category: 2.3 Open Source (Building)
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The GNU Public License v2 in the land of microservices
Another question I get asked is how containers and new architectural styles like microservices-based architectures relate to copyleft licenses, in particular the GPLv2 license. First things first: I don’t recommend taking a “let’s work around this pesky license” approach. You should follow both a license’s spirit and letter; license evasion (“Umgehungsversuch”) may not hold up…
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How to read open source license obligations
Interpreting open source licenses requires considerable skills and experience. Ideally, engineers and lawyers work together: Lawyers know the meaning and consequences of legal terms, and engineers can make sense of it in the context of software. There are some basics, however, that help set your thinking straight. A critical aspect is: What is a (re-)distribution…
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Open source license compliance and work-for-hire
A common question that I am asked in my seminar on license-compliant delivery of products that contain open source software is: But what about a work-for-hire? We are a consulting company: As we work for our clients, and use open source software, do we have to create all those legal notices? The answer, as so…
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Managing your open source supply chain—Why and how? (Nikolay Harutyunyan, IEEE Computer)
I’m happy to report that the eigth article in the open source column of IEEE Computer has been published. Title Managing Your Open Source Supply Chain—Why and How? Keywords Open Source, Software Supply Chain Authors Nikolay Harutyunyan, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg Publication Computer vol. 53, no. 6 (June 2020), pp. 77-81 Abstract: More than 90% of software…
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Challenges of tracking and documenting open source dependencies in products: A case study (video)
Today, Andreas (Andi) Bauer presented some of our work on managing open source dependencies in software products. Please watch the talk below (local copy). The presentation is based on the same-name research paper.
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Why I gray-listed GitHub for open source
Most of my software development is through my professorship, where I guide my student teams in developing (mostly) open source software. We have clear rules in place for how and which open source can be used in our projects and which can’t, like any competent organization. Mostly, it is about license compliance. We owe this…