Copyright issues in Open Source Licensing

5. Free Software Definition www.intelligere.in The fundamental purpose of open source licensing is to deny anyone to exclusively exploit a work, the software. Main purpose remains that the work should reach a maximum of audience. At the same time, creators of the work are required to surrender all, or substantially all, of the rights granted by copyright to those entities that are capable of distributing and thereby exploiting that work.

6. Copyright www.intelligere.in Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work. Copyright includes the right to copy, reproduce, distribute and adapt the work. Registering a copyright is not a mandate. The moment a work is fixed in a tangible medium copyright comes into existence. But it is always beneficial to get the work registered, as its easier to prove in case of violation and infringement and damages can be quantified in a better way. Copyright owners have the exclusive right to exercise control over copying and other exploitation of the works for a specific period of time. Anyone requiring to exploit and use any copyrighted work requires permission to use that work. Copyright owners can grant permission and grant license for exploitation of the work.

7. Copyright www.intelligere.in Copyright is granted to various categories of work, like, literary, artistic, dramatic and musical work. Ordinarily the author is the first owner of the work. Different rights are granted to different categories of work. Computer programmes are protected under copyright and are treated as literary works. There are certain uses which fall under the domain of “ fair use ” . Copyrighted work can be used and exploited without permission and license under fair use premise. Some of the fair usage are, news reporting, criticism, research, commentary, teaching or scholarship.

8. Copyright in Software www.intelligere.in All software is subject to copyright. The moment one saves code to a file, copyright law comes into existence. A software copyright is the exclusive right to control the rules for copying, exploiting, modifying, a work of software. Software copyright is usually used by proprietary company to prevent unauthorized copying of their software. Copyright holders can permit other persons to copy or modify their software. A copyright holder can sue for damages for any unauthorized usage of the copyrighted software product. In addition to all the rights applicable to a literary work, owner of the copyright in a computer programme enjoys the rights to sell or give on hire or offer for sale or hire, regardless of whether such a copy has been sold or given on hire on earlier occasion. Copyright in the software can either be assigned or licensed.

10. Copyright infringement www.intelligere.in Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright owner ’s exclusive rights, such as right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works. Copyright infringement occurs when someone uses a copyrighted product without permission and authorization from the author/owner of the copyright. Infringement also happens when the scope of rights granted under the license are exceeded or violated. In case of any infringement of the copyrighted work, the author/owner of the copyright can initiate proceedings against the infringer. Copyright infringement is both civil and criminal offence. The copyright owner is entitled to remedies by way of injunctions, damages and accounts. The minimum punishment for infringement of copyright is imprisonment for six months with the minimum fine of Rs. 50,000/-

11. Copyright infringement in Software www.intelligere.in Copyright infringement of software is the practice of unauthorized copying of the computer software. The author/owner of the copyright of the software has the exclusive right to grant and control the usage of its software product. Any act of someone using/exploiting the software without permission and license from the author/owner of the software is regarded as copyright infringement. Infringement in copyright software also occurs when the software is used outside the purview of the terms and conditions of the license.

12. Copyleft www.intelligere.in Copyleft is a term used in respect of FOSS licensing which is used for copyright. Copyleft is a practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work. The main idea behind copylefting the open source software was to not let the product fall into the domain of proprietary software. If open source software is put into public domain with no copyright, people can make the said software proprietary and it would defeat the whole purpose of open source freedom. Copyleft guarantees that every user has the freedom.

13. Copyleft www.intelligere.in Whereas, copyright law has been used to withhold permission to copy, modify or distribute software, on the contrary Copyleft ensures that the project remains free, and all modified and extended versions of the program remains free as well. Copyleft licenses are conditional licenses. Copyleft should not be equated with abandoning the copyright. Proprietary software developers use copyright to take away the users' freedom; whereas, copyleft guarantees their freedom. That's why the name has been reversed from “copyright” to “copyleft”. FOSS licenses are categorized as strong, weak or with no copyleft provisions. Non-copyleft licenses, also known as permissive licenses, allows those using the software to re-license it under any terms as they want. The most popular copyleft license is GPL. The most popular non-copyleft license is BSD style. These licenses place no restriction on licensing for modified works.

16. When does copyright infringement occurs in FOSS Fundamental violations in case of FOSS licenses include; www.intelligere.in

17. Copyleft in FOSS www.intelligere.in h The strength of the copyleft governing a work is an expression of the extent that the copyleft provisions can be efficiently imposed on all kinds of derived works

18. FOSS Licenses www.intelligere.in h

19. Can licensed software (modified or unmodified) be distributed that has been combined or linked with code covered by another licensing model? www.intelligere.in h

20. www.intelligere.in In case of violation of license, one can look for different measures for enforcement of the same. Before starting any enforcement proceedings one has to be sure to organize and gather all the information

21. www.intelligere.in Few Things to keep in mind before taking any action against the violator

22. www.intelligere.in

23. www.intelligere.in Case Study

29. www.intelligere.in License Compliance Best Practices