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Central IP Service Central IP Service the copyleft paradox open source compatibility issues and legal risks Brussels, 30/09/2015 Stefano GENTILE EC.JRC
Central IP Service
Central IP Service
the copyleft paradox open source compatibility issues and legal risks
Brussels, 30/09/2015
Stefano GENTILE EC.JRC
Central IP Service
2 contents
open source philosophy
characteristics of copyleft
compatibility between multiple copyleft licences
the 'copyleft paradox'
examples of incompatible licences
case law: a word from US disputes
enforcement instruments
conclusions
legal risks related to the use of OSS
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3 open source philosophy
OPEN S
OU
RCE
not just
access to source
code distribute modify copy use
use copyright to
essential […] for society as a whole because they promote
social solidarity—that is, . (gnu.org)
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4 copyleft rationale
CO
PYLEFT
© pyleft c
licence with
effect
conceived
method
merged
dynamic link
static link
source code
derivative
effects downstream
distribution on
of works
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5 copyleft paradox
CO
PYLEFT
copyleft proliferation
respecting one licence would
code mishmash practice
incompatible viral terms
result:
good viruses gone bad
☣
devised to forbid restrictions to sharing results in creating purpose
defeats the very
copyleft of “ ”
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6 examples
CO
PYLEFT
source bsd
source
lgpl
gpl source eupl
source gpl
lgpl
available transfer instr.
copyleft
any
none
partly copyleft
OSS licence type
non-copyleft
weak copyleft
strong copyleft
flexible copyleft
epl gpl
lgpl
euplsource
mixing copyleft
with your own
lgpl
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7 cross-compatibility
CO
PYLEFT
note: this is just a 1vs1 licence matrix…
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8 legal risks
OPEN S
OU
RCE
misappropriation (very upsetting)
source code is not made available
other condition not respected (e.g. incl. copy of the licence)
the result is a
most
software
common
using open source …so, what are the consequences and
what the remedies?
copyleft conflicts
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9 open source disputes
CA
SE L
AW
Jacobsen v. Katzer, et al. (2008)
Jacobsen manages OSS developers' group JMRI
JMRI produces software for model railroad enthusiasts: DecoderPro.
DecoderPro distributed under ' ' (permissive OSS licence).
Katzer develops commercial software for model railroads.
Katzer uses a significant portion of the DecoderPro OSS code to produce and distribute a commercial product: Decoder Commander.
Katzer fails to comply with the Artistic License requirements (i.a. attribution).
Jacobsen sues Katzer for and seeks .
pla
inti
ff
defe
ndant
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10 open source disputes
CA
SE L
AW
Katzer's
Federal District Court in favour of Katzer. Jacobsen appeals the decision. Appellate Court sides with Jacobsen:
violation of the terms of the licence are contractual violations, not copyright violations. Thus FOSS-like licenses could only be enforced through rather than .
if a licence is limited in scope and the “ ”
infringement copyright
licensee acts outside the scope, the licensor can bring an action for
defence
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11 remedies
EN
FORCEM
EN
T
bre
inf actual damages + infringer's profits*
breach infringement ©
vs. contract
liquidated or actual damages (+ penalties)
limited to the contracting party
injunction / specific performance
erga omnes
injunction
precautionary seizure
i.e. stronger
instruments! enforcing
*or statutory damages
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12 conclusions
different copyleft code mishmash may hinder distribution!
OSS right-holders enjoy strong(er) enforcement instruments
copyleft has peculiar features that require upstream planning
assessment ex-ante in order to comply with distribution policy
OSS licence breach leads to copyright infringement allegations
copyleft licensing is an effective dissemination tool
copyleft code is a viable (common) choice for sw development
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13 credits
thank you credits:
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