LinuxCon + CloudOpen + ContainerCon NA 2015

The ability to share source code seamlessly is “The Force” behind the Open Source Movement. The license is the single most important infrastructural component that enables frictionless sharing. By definition, there is only one thing that makes software, open source. The License. It enables code to be exchanged freely, eliminating the need to seek permission each time code is used or shared. When licensing terms are ambiguous or missing, rights to share evaporate, and the source code ceases to be open source. One of the growing threats to the movement is the lack of clear licensing terms in a vast collection of source code causing the movement to hemorrhage code unnecessarily. We present a solution (the silver bullet), employed by successful projects, that stops the hemorrhaging while simultaneously enabling contributors to obtain greater recognition. May the Source be with you!

The work covered in this presentation was prepared by the speaker Mark Gisi, and Sameer Ahmed, who is a Member of Technical Staff at Wind River Systems. He has developed various system applications including supporting SPDX.