Black Duck Blog

Timothy Kenny
Director of Marketing
Tkenny@blackducksoftware.com
With 65% of the more than 220,000 open source projects available on the Internet using GPL licenses, they are the most widely used open source licenses in the world, that’s one big cube. No matter which way you twist it, the way that software development organizations integrate code licensed under the GPL and AGPL into their applications and services, and depending on how that code is deployed, can expose a company and its intellectual property to significant risk.

Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool was found to contain GPLv2 code. Microsoft is claiming that the code in question was not intentional, but they are sharing the responsibility of the error with the third party contracted to create the tool. They made the source code as well as binaries for the tool available under the terms of the GPLv2.

Despite widespread adoption of GPL-based code, developers and end-users continue to try and solve the puzzle regarding the three main issues of GPL license use and obligations:

* What constitutes a derivative work?
* What constitutes a separate and independent work?
* What constitutes distribution?

Although these issues can be complex, we have seen some practical approaches for addressing them. Karen Copenhaver (Choate, Hall and Stewart) and Mark Radcliffe (DLA Piper), two of the software industry’s most prominent IP lawyers and domain experts with the GPL, recently discussed issues surrounding GPL license use along with some excellent tips and approaches in learning how to address them.