The Global Scope of Open Source and Free Software Licensing
Another issue for open source and free software licenses is their enforcement in jurisdictions outside the United States. The global nature of commerce and the generally free travel of software across national boundaries implicates the enforcement of open source and free software licenses in a number of jurisdictions, not only those in the United States.
International enforcement of copyright laws is frequently lax. While many countries are signatories of treaties that provide for the international enforcement of copyright protection (such as the Berne Convention), such treaties are frequently disregarded. The proliferation of "pirated" DVDs and CDs is a testament to that. The use of file-sharing software frustrates enforcement of copyright even within the United States. Within such a framework, it may seem impossible to enforce the terms of open source and free software licenses, which depend, as just noted, on the foundations of copyright for enforcement across national boundaries.
In many countries, particularly in the "developed" world where most software creation takes place, the enforcement of copyright is routine. While the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material is commonplace, it is nonetheless difficult for any established company or person to reasonably hope to profit from the illegal distribution of copyrighted material. This is particularly true of software. Users of software, at least commercial users, ...