The Open Source Alternative: Understanding Risks and Leveraging Opportunities

Chapter 11. Open Source Code Releases

Most companies, and the lawyers and businesspeople who work with them, first become involved in open source involuntarily by having to ensure compliance with inbound open source licenses. Some companies, however, take the additional step of releasing their own code under open source licenses. This step is more deliberate, and is undertaken for many reasons.

The most straightforward case is a company that wishes to make a limited open source code release but not to build a business around it. This option is sometimes attractive for companies trying to revive or leverage commoditized products. For instance, if a software product has become outdated, unprofitable because of competition, or simply no longer commercially viable, a company may elect to release it under an open source license. The goals in doing this are to create goodwill in the open source community, encourage adoption of standards that the company uses, increase the market for complementary products, or disrupt the market for competing products.

Companies considering such an initiative face questions like these:

• What goals will be served by making the release?

• How will the release serve the company's profitability?

• What license should be used?

• What is the effect on the company's patent portfolio?

• What is the effect on the company's trademarks?

• How will company resources be devoted to the project, and how will employees have incentives to contribute?

• Should a new entity be created to administer ...