licensing compliance as business intelligence

Licensing Compliance asBusiness Intelligence

My Name Is...

Shane Coughlan

Senior Advisor, Legal Department

Free Software Foundation Europe

Free Software in Europe

32% of European ICT by 2010 (UNU Merit)

4% of European GDP by 2010 (UNU Merit)

80% of commercial software will contain Free Software by 2011 (Gartner)

Value World-Wide

50 Billion USD market by 2011 Figures from Linux Foundation

European Legal Network

Over 230 members

27 countries over 4 continents

The largest Free Software legal network

Down To Business

All technology procurement today can potentially involve Free Software

Dealing With This

Companies need best practice that takes Free Software into account

Common Issues

People don't read the licenses

People don't follow the license terms

Avoiding Issues

Read the licenses

Follow the terms

Processes Everywhere

Supply processes

Development processes

Deployment processes

Issue resolution processes

Communicate With Projects

Be honest about your intentions

Sidestep politics, stick to facts

Use the norms fostered by major projects

Communicate With Companies

Remember we are sharing platforms

Describe requirements

Build partnerships (formal or informal)

The “Western” Experience

The primary benefit is collaboration

Barriers to collaboration reduce benefits

We need to learn to talk more

Expectations

People will follow the licenses

People will collaborate

People will recognize value

Managing Supply Chains

Allocate risk between parties

Remember that distribution is key

Record and audit code contents

Making Procurement Work

Identify origins

Keep records

Report history

Be prepared to audit

Using Code Internally

Know what is OK to use

Know what is not OK

Have a method to deal with unknowns

Resolving Problems

Accept reports of issues

Investigate issues

Provide feedback to reporters

Resolve issues

In Summary...

Maximize value through understanding

Remember licensing is key

Licensing provides certainty in collaboration

Contact Us

ftf@fsfeurope.org

www.fsfeurope.org/ftf

Copyright

These slides are copyright © Shane Coughlan 2009 and 2010.

They are licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License