Distributing Open Source? Survey Says…

Many companies are unaware when they are distributing open source or violating open source licences

By Kim Weins on Mon, 06/14/10 - 3:08pm.

As I talk to enterprises that are using open source software, inevitably the question of distributing open source software comes up. The recent lawsuits around GPL violations have definitely raised the awareness of many users of open source software.

For some companies, like software companies that include open source software in their products, it is usually obvious that they are “distributing” open source, and therefore need to comply with all of the relevant open source license obligations. However, companies that primarily use open source software within their corporate data centers may not be fully aware when they have crossed the line to "distribute" open source software and therefore have triggered additional license obligations.

At OpenLogic, we are currently sponsoring a survey to find out how well companies understand their use of open source and their obligations to comply with open source licenses. I will include results of that survey in a future blog. In the meantime, please take the survey and pass the link on to others.