







In the past few years, many companies have come to me asking for help drafting a “new open source license.” As a rule, drafting a new open source software license is not a good idea, s…
One Startup's Heretical Plan to Turn Open Source Code Into Cash
With a new kind of license, open sourcers are trying to strike a balance between getting paid and preserving their values.

The Open Source Distributor Business Model
Dirk Riehle, dirk@riehle.org, Published in Computer vol. 54, no. 12 (December 2021), pp. 99-103. Abstract This article defines and discusses one particular commercial open source business model, ca…

Some startups are going ‘fair source’ to avoid the pitfalls of open source licensing | TechCrunch
New alternative category to 'closed source' could help companies monetize software in the open -- without going all-in on open source.

Choose an open source license
Non-judgmental guidance on choosing a license for your open source project
There is NO Open Source Business Model
Preface: It has been brought to my attention by friends and trusted advisors that a valid interpretation of my point below is that open…

Open source and the software supply chain
Managing something as esoteric as resources for building software with a variety of contributions made by the open source community is more amorphic.

Licenses
Non-judgmental guidance on choosing a license for your open source project
Everything an open source maintainer might need to know about open source licensing | Ben Balter
There's lots of internet lore around open source licensing. An attorney and open source developer answers the most common questions.


Why Open Source Is Good For Business
You may have heard of the term open source but what does it actually mean and how can it help us as consumers? Open source is a type of…

Licenses – Open Source Initiative
The content on this website, of which Opensource.org is the author, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Opensource.org is not the author of any of the licenses reproduced on this site. Questions about the copyright in a license should be directed to the license steward. Read our Privacy Policy
Open Source is a cost-allocation system
Because the right to use the software is not tied to payment, the license does not connect the people who benefit, the people who decide, and the people who bear the costs. Projects have to build those connections deliberately through governance.

Open source is a restaurant
[[Chad Whitacre]] makes a great analogy around when/how software gets paid for, vs food. Open Source is a restaurant. At a restaurant, you eat your meal fir...

Reimagining OSS Licensing and Commercialization with Fair Source - Adam Jacob, System Initiative