Press Release
September 21, 2004
"Understanding Open Source & Free Software Licensing": A Straightforward Guide to the Complex World of Licensing
Sebastopol, CA--Open source and free software models have made tremendous
contributions to computing: thanks to the licenses supporting them, they
make it easier for developers to assemble teams for creating code, and
allow developers to reuse code or fix bugs in the code. These licenses
promise users applications without price tags and reduce the impact of a
vendor leaving the business. But despite all the benefits, many
developers shy away from working on open source or free software projects
because they don't understand the implications of the various licenses.
Licensing issues are complicated, and both the facts and fallacies one
hears word-of-mouth can add to the confusion.
"The ideas underlying open source and free software are growing in
importance every day," explains Andrew M. St. Laurent, author of
Understanding Open Source & Free Software Licensing (O'Reilly, US
$24.95). "The results achieved by the Linux operating system and Apache
webserver software are just two examples of the already widespread use of
software developed under these licenses. The open source model of software
development is genuinely competitive with the proprietary model in many
areas of development, and may even supplant the proprietary model in large
areas of software development in the coming years."
St. Laurent's book helps developers and other interested readers make
sense of the different options available to them. The book focuses on
annotated licenses, offering an in-depth explanation of how they compare
and interoperate, and how license choices affect project possibilities.
Written in clear language that you don't have to be a lawyer to
understand, the book answers such questions as: What rights am I giving
up? How will my use of OS/FS licensing affect future users or future
developers? Does a particular use of this software--such as combining it
with proprietary software--leave me vulnerable to lawsuits?
According to St. Laurent, the book is written to be easily accessible by
non-lawyers: "I've made every effort to keep 'lawyer-speak' to a minimum
and to avoid abstract legal discussion that wouldn't mean anything to
non-lawyers. For instance, I've avoided long discussions of esoteric legal
doctrines or proposed laws that are not yet effective and probably never
will be." As St. Laurent says, this sets his book apart from the
competition. "Someone can pick it up and look at the Apache license, for
example," he adds, "and get a good understanding of that license in just a
few minutes without having to read the entire book or skip around to
different sections."
Understanding Open source & Free Software Licensing discusses copyright,
patent, and warranty issues, and explores how to choose among the
licenses, the implications of working on projects where someone else has
already chosen the license, and the liabilities created by violating
license terms. With this book in hand, St. Laurent notes, "Those who are
interested in open source and free software licensing will be able to make
intelligent, informed choices about how they want to license new programs
or contribute to ongoing open source and free software projects."
The book tackles the spectrum of licensing, including:
The MITBSD, Apache, and Academic Free Licenses
The GNU General Public License (GPL) and Lesser General Public License
(LGPL)
The Mozilla Public License (MPL)
The Artistic License, Perl License, and Q License
Creative Commons 1.0 and 2.0 Licenses
Sun Community Source License and Commercial Use Supplement
A concise guide to licenses, Understanding Open Source & Free Software
Licensing bridges the gap between the open source vision and the
practical implications of its legal underpinnings. If open source and free
software licenses interest you, this book will help you understand them.
If you're an open source/free software developer, this book is an absolute
necessity.
Additional Resources:
Understanding Open Source & Free Software Licensing
Andrew M. St. Laurent
ISBN 0-596-00581-4, 193 pages, $24.95 US, $36.95 CA
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
About O'Reilly
O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.
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