Friday, August 10, 2007

German Court Rules that Skype Violated Open Source License

Open source software (OSS) is big right now. Part of what makes OSS so attractive is its licensing structure. OSS licenses require that software source code (i.e., the version that can be read and changed by human programmers) must be made publicly available, and most OSS licenses -- including the most popular, known as the GNU General Public License (GPL) -- require anyone who distributes a program based on OSS must likewise make their changes publicly available. Many companies have discovered that using OSS code in their products makes good business sense. But using OSS software in a commercial product can also create legal complications. A case in point is a German court ruling (see case summary) that distribution of an OSS mobile phone using the Skype software without a copy of the GPL or source code violated the license's terms.

© Copyright 2007 Steptoe & Johnson LLP. Steptoe & Johnson LLP

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