Free & Open Source Software and Intellectual Property

May 29, 2007 1
Free & Open Source Software
and Intellectual Property
Sanjiva Weerawarana, Ph.D.
Founder, Chairman & CEO, WSO2, Inc.
Founder & Director, ThinkCube, Inc.
Founder & Director, Lanka Software Foundation
Director, The Open Source Initiative
Member, Apache Software Foundation
Visiting Lecturer, Univ. of Moratuwa

May 29, 2007 2
Overview
● Introducing FOSS
● Copyright, Patents and Licenses
● Business Models

May 29, 2007 3
Free & Open Source Software
● Software is licensed under terms that
allow “free” use
– Open Source Definition
– Free Software Definition
● Often, software is also developed openly
– Allows global participation
● So .. all about freedom rather than free of
charge

May 29, 2007 4
Open Source Definition
● Free redistribution
● Source code
● Derived works
● Integrity of the
author's source code
● No discrimination
against persons or
groups
● No discrimination
against fields of
endeavor
● Distribution of license
● License must not be
specific to a product
● License must not
restrict other software
● License must be
technology neutral

May 29, 2007 5
Free Software Definition
● Freedom 0: The freedom to run the program,
for any purpose.
● Freedom 1: The freedom to study how the
program works, and adapt it to your needs.
● Freedom 2: The freedom to redistribute copies
so you can help your neighbor.
● Freedom 3: The freedom to improve the
program, and release your improvements to the
public, so that the whole community benefits.

May 29, 2007 6
Overview
● Business Models

May 29, 2007 7
Disclaimer
● IANAL

May 29, 2007 8
Copyright
● Definition:
– “The legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright,
publisher, or distributor to exclusive publication, production,
sale, or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic
work.”
● Copyrights expire after some time
● Copyright owner can license the same
work any number of times any way
– Copyright transfer is not implicit when you
license your work to someone else
● Transfer copyright ==> do whatever

May 29, 2007 9
Patents
● Definition:
– “A grant made by a government that confers upon the creator
of an invention the sole right to make, use, and sell that
invention for a set period of time.”
● Designed to protect the inventor .. to give
the person a chance to “cash in” on the
invention
● Works great in the “old” days of non-
intellectual property

May 29, 2007 10
Software Patents
● Software is patentable in the US
– Basically prevents others from using a
programming technique
● Filing a patent is an expensive process
● Has created a stifling environment where
large companies can shut down small
innovators with patent violation threats
● Software patents can kill FOSS

May 29, 2007 11
Software Patents and Copyright
● Software cannot be copied under
copyright law
● Patenting is not required to protect the
investment of software company
● Software patents seek to PREVENT others
from doing the same type of work
– Anti-competitive!
● Patent holder can license their patent for
$$

May 29, 2007 12
Licenses
● Definition: “Official or legal permission to
do or own a specified thing.”
● If you have copyright on some software,
you can grant a license to others
● Hundreds of software licenses
● Software freedoms (FOSS) are achieved
by licenses

May 29, 2007 13
Copyleft Licenses
● Copyleft is a general method for making a
program or other work free, and requiring
all modified and extended versions of the
program to be free as well.
– Opposite of copyright, which seeks to prevent
● Also called “Viral Licenses”
● Example: Gnu General Public License,
Microsoft Community License (?)

May 29, 2007 14
Copyright Licenses
● Basically grants a license to someone to
use the software
● Key: does not require derived works be
licensed under the same terms
– Big difference compared to copyleft
– Lead to the difference between free software
movement and open source software
movement
● Example: Apache License

May 29, 2007 15
Overview
● Business Models

May 29, 2007 16
FOSS Business Models
● How do you make money giving the
software away?
– Dual license
– Consulting
– Subscription
– Hosting
– Embedding

November 28, 2005 17
Dual License Strategy
● A vendor owning copyright can give a version of
the software under an open source license for
free for specific, restricted purposes
– E.g., MySQL
– Pros: free development & testing, faster
adoption, better awareness, free marketing
● Want to do more?
– Come back and buy a license from us
● Dual revenue paths: traditional license +
maintenance/support

Consulting Strategy
● Enterprise solution costs: 30% license,
70% implementation
● Go where the money is – give the
software free and charge for consulting
● Variation: Stack Strategy
– Put together commonly combined
components into a certified stack
– E.g.: SpikeSource, SourceLabs

Subscription Strategy
● Over time, revenues from services (both
maintenance and consulting) increase in
proportion relative to revenues from licenses
● Find a way for your customer to need you over
time and charge a bit for it

Hosted Strategy
● Offer an online service using GPL and
other FOSS products
● No need to share enhancements because
of no redistribution
● Example: Yahoo, Google (100K+ servers
running Linux, MySQL)

Embedded Strategy
● Linux is the most widely used embedded
OS
– Sony PS/2 is a Linux machine
● FOSS technologies change the game in
the embedded space
– FOSS is a platform that levels the playing
field: get commodity hardware, write a few
drivers, put FOSS software, mix in your
innovative idea and you are now a player
● Specialized appliances galore

Summary
● FOSS people love intellectual property
– Copyright protection enables FOSS
● Software patents seek to prevent others
from beating you
● Open standards are key to increasing
competitiveness and lowering costs
– Most importantly, standards that are free of
patent encumbrances

Free & Open Source Software and Intellectual Property

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