Last week I participated in a workshop on Software Licenses, organized by the Open Technologies Alliance (ELLAK). The workshop was led by Mr. Alexios Zavras, Senior Open Source Compliance Engineer of Intel Corp., who has been involved with OSS since 1983. Mr. Zavras presented a brief overview of the most widely used open-source licenses, elaborated on software licensing issues, and worked on scenarios arising from the licensing of derivative products released under copyleft, permissive and proprietary licenses.
The workshop was of particular relevance, since in the last couple of years hundreds of creators and organizations choose to distribute their data and works with free licenses, rendering this way open-source applications an integral part of the operation of businesses and organizations, both public and private. This rapid rise in the use of free software and free licenses has resulted in an increased need for specialized legal support in a number of relevant subject areas.
If you are interested in finding out more about Open Source Software, or consider licensing your own work under a free software license, you can find out more at the introductory guide provided by the Open Source Initiative, or consult with your IT lawyer.