Category: Opinions

  • User beware: Modified AGPLv3 removes freedoms, adds legal headaches

    User beware: Modified AGPLv3 removes freedoms, adds legal headaches

    Courts interpret the meaning of legal agreements and, no matter how skilled the drafter, the outcome may be unexpected. This is one reason why the license review process is so rigorous. An OSI-approved license may be used for decades to come and we do our best to make sure that they will be interpreted as…

  • Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

    Open source ‘protestware’ harms Open Source

    There is a new development that directly impacts the open source community, and it warrants a new commentary. Angry maintainers have started adding code to a small number of open source repositories to protest against the war.

  • Court affirms it’s false advertising to claim software is Open Source when it’s not

    Court affirms it’s false advertising to claim software is Open Source when it’s not

    The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed a lower court decision concluding what we’ve always known: that it’s false advertising to claim that software is “open source” when it’s not licensed under an open source license.

  • The intriguing implications of SFC v Vizio

    The lawsuit is a milestone moment underscoring the value of open source software to our society: we must vigilantly and proactively protect the rights of the both the user/consumer and those who have contributed code in good faith.