Open source software (OSS) powers much of the technology we rely on today, speeding the pace of innovation and enabling unprecedented collaboration on new product development. And one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of open source software is knowing what software you can legally use, in which situations, and with what requirements. In other words, knowing the license through which a creator grants use of their open source software, and what that means in terms of how that software can be used.

SOOS’s tools are made to make open source software security manageable. That doesn’t just apply to software vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit. It also means protecting your software from legal and compliance risks that could jeopardize whether and how you can sell your software because of the open source components used to build it. Developers can compare any two software licenses with SOOS, in one click, for free, at any time. Simply go to https://app.soos.io/research/licenses, search for one of the licenses you want to compare, and then look on the right to see a list of comparisons of that license to other licenses. 

But what is an open source license, what are the different types of licenses, and why do they matter? To learn about the importance of and easiest way to identify, compare, manage, and verify open source licenses, continue reading.

What is Open Source Software Compliance?

Open source software, or software that’s available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute, has become ubiquitous for several reasons. It can be easily accessed by anyone, is low cost or free, and allows developers to share in code creation so they can focus on rapid customization and enhancements. There are also large communities for most open source projects, meaning documentation, answers to questions, and contributions are typically robust and continually evolving.

Despite the benefits of open source software, there are open source software risks, mainly pertaining to security and usage rights. Open source software compliance refers to the practice of adhering to the legal terms and conditions set by an open source software license when using, modifying, or distributing open source code. Conditions could be things like paying to use the software, properly attributing the software creator, only using the software with other software sharing the same license type, and sharing code modifications with the community.

The choice of license governing an OSS project can significantly impact how you use and distribute it in your software applications, including whether you can legally sell software that uses specific open source projects. Read on to learn about the different open source license types and various pros and cons of each. Or, if you’re already familiar with them, skip ahead to learn how to quickly identify open source software usage rights and compare licenses before choosing to use a particular piece of software.

What Are Open Source Licenses?

An open source license is a legal framework that dictates how software can be used, modified, and distributed. It ensures that the original creators maintain certain rights while allowing others to use, contribute to, and benefit from their work. The license chosen by the software creator determines:

1. Whether or not the code can be used commercially.
2. If modifications must be shared with the community.
3. How attribution to the original creator should be handled.
4. Compatibility with other software licenses.

Popular licenses include the MIT License, GNU General Public License (GPL), Apache License, and BSD License, each with varying levels of permissiveness and restrictions.

Types of Open Source License Usage Rights

Open source licenses can be broadly categorized based on the rights they grant and the obligations they impose. These include:

1. Permissive Licenses: These licenses, like the MIT or Apache License 2.0, impose minimal restrictions. Users can modify, distribute, and use the software – even in proprietary projects – with few obligations, typically requiring only attribution to the original author.
2. Copyleft Licenses (also called Restrictive Licenses): These licenses, such as the GNU GPL, require that any modifications or derivative works be distributed under the same license. This ensures the code remains open but may limit its integration with proprietary software.
3. Weak Copyleft Licenses (also called Semi-permissive Licenses): Examples include the Mozilla Public License (MPL). These licenses strike a balance, requiring only the modified components of the original code to remain open while allowing broader proprietary integration.
4. Dual Licensing: Some projects offer a choice of licenses (e.g., one open source and one commercial). This gives users flexibility, but may require payment for proprietary use.

It’s important to understand the type of open source license an open source project has before deciding to use that open source software. Failing to do so can expose your company to significant financial, reputation, and business risk.

Consequences of Not Checking License Types

Failing to evaluate the license type before using open source software can expose companies to the following risks:

1. Legal Risks: Infringing a license can result in lawsuits, fines, or an obligation to release proprietary code. For example, if you sell a software product that uses open source components without commercial usage rights, you would be violating that open source license and the creator could pursue legal action against you.
2. Compatibility Issues: Combining software with incompatible licenses can prevent distribution or force code rework. For example, if you are caught using open source software with a copyleft license type like the GNU GPL license in the same application as open source software with a different license type you could have to cease using the application and rebuild it.
3. Reputation Damage: Misuse of licenses can lead to negative publicity and loss of trust among customers, investors, and other company stakeholders.

Being unaware of license requirements can derail projects and create unnecessary liabilities. But the good news is that it’s easy to check associated open source software licenses and usage rights before developing new software applications.

How to Compare Open Source Licenses

Given the complexity and diversity of open source licenses, tools that analyze and compare open source licenses provide immense value through:

1. Streamlined Analysis: Tools can quickly identify license terms, saving time and reducing manual effort.
2. Informed Decision-Making: By comparing licenses side by side, organizations can select software that aligns with their goals and use cases.
3. Risk Mitigation: Tools highlight obligations and potential conflicts, preventing unintentional violations.
4. Strategic Flexibility: Understanding license restrictions upfront helps organizations adapt plans to maintain compliance and avoid costly changes later.

Get the Benefits of Open Source Software, without the Risks

There are things companies can do to get the benefits of open source software without the risk of future penalties, rework, or other constraints. Implementing an open source software license management tool and verification process as part of developers’ standard tests ensures that developers can:

1. Easily choose between different types of open source software with different licenses.
2. Compare open source software licenses before deciding to use particular open source software.
3. Confirm the code they used meets license compliance needs before they deploy applications.

Before implementing license management alone, read on to learn the key parts of the most effective open source license management processes.

The Key Components of Open Source License Management

Open source license management is best incorporated into development best practices for several reasons. Before you can understand the licenses being used, you have to understand the software used. This might be easy for new applications you’re building, but most companies have many legacy and new applications they’re managing simultaneously. Simply understanding all of the open source components your company’s technology uses is the first part of open source license management. Next is understanding the licenses associated with those open source components. Then comparing the license usage rights with how you’re using them and your company-specific policies, for example whether you are paying to use licenses that require payment to be used commercially. Lastly, because license usage rights can change, ongoing scanning of open source software to check license use and confirm compliance is essential. 

In summary, the best open source license management processes follow these steps:

1. Understand all of the open source components used in your software: Use a software composition analysis (SCA) tool to scan all software and identify open source components. After the SCA tool scans your software, create an up-to-date, accurate Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) listing all open source components in your software.
2. Determine the license types your company accepts: Before you run the results of your software composition analysis (SCA) tool against an open source license checker, you need to determine your company-specific open source license policies. For example, are you willing to pay to use open source software? Are you willing to attribute software? How you decide to handle license requirements will determine which licenses should be used.
3. Compare how you’re using open source software with how you should be using it, based on your company’s policies and the OSS license rights, and identify any “out of compliance” areas: Once you’ve used a SCA tool to create an SBOM and you have configured your company license policies, run the SBOM against an open source license database to identify any violations, i.e. places where you’re using open source software in a way you shouldn’t be. You can easily find these “out of compliance” uses of open source software using an open source license management tool like SOOS’s Application Security Posture Management platform offers. Key to this is using a tool that allows you to configure company-specific rules and ensuring the tool you use scans against all available open source licenses, which SOOS does.

An Example: Image Resizer 

If you search for “image resizer node github”, you get several different options, including:

• https://github.com/jimmynicol/image-resizer which uses the MIT license
• https://github.com/lovell/sharp which uses the Apache-2.0 license

This is just one example of the choices developers have for open source software to use, choices they make everyday. And SOOS automatically compares two licenses like MIT and Apache so you can quickly know what’s better for your specific needs. In fact, developers can compare any two software licenses with SOOS, in one click, for free, at any time. Simply go to https://app.soos.io/research/licenses, search for one of the licenses you want to compare, and then look on the right to see a list of comparisons of that license to other licenses.

Summary

With automatic software composition analysis (SCA), software bill of materials (SBOM) creation, and open source license scanning, SOOS centralizes the identification, management, and verification of open source software components and their licenses. This makes it easy for developers to choose the best and compliant open source software to use, instead of overlooking usage rights and leaving it to chance whether they’re exposing the company to increased risk or not.

Open-source software is a cornerstone of modern development, but its benefits come with responsibilities. Understanding the types of licenses, their implications, and the tools available for comparison is crucial for maximizing the value of OSS. By making informed decisions about licensing, organizations can innovate freely while mitigating risks and fostering a sustainable approach to software development.