Did the US Treasury censor code or illegal actions?
The Tornado Cash case: Did the US Treasury censor code or illegal actions?
Opinions
Thought pieces from people (may include staff and board members) and organizations.
How to make app stores friendly to Open Source
App stores require that Open Source developers constantly jump through ever-changing hoops. This is an unsustainable demand. Read a proposal on how to change that.
The future of innovation has patent-free standards
Supposedly “open“ standards – including those ratified by ISO, CEN and ETSI – can’t be implemented without going cap-in-hand to the world’s largest companies to buy a license.
About The Standards Question In The OpenUK Survey
There is a question about “standards” in the OpenUK survey this time around. Why is it there? The UK is an important contributor to global standards. Many international standards were…
OSI to the European Commission: make space for patent-free standards too
One of the biggest hidden challenges facing the software and technology world is the evolving conflict between old electronics vendors and the new software-defined universe. It’s arising because of patents…
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 intended.
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
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.