How to Learn About the Laws Governing Open Source Media

A non-profit corporation called the Open Source Initiative was formed to educate and encourage people to share software technology. The "open-source" concept is centered around a development method for software that uses the power of distributed peer review and encourages transparency of process. Primarily, this concept evolved in response to a desire for better quality software offered at a lower cost. Ultimately, open-source media seeks to prevent vendors from maintaining a monopoly over any one technology. Through a variety of levels of free or inexpensive licensing, the goals of this initiative are achieved.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer with Internet access

1. Know that the laws governing the use of open-source media fall under the same category as those protecting copyrighted materials.
2. Learn about the GNU General Public License, which guarantees that software covered by this license is copyrighted but is available for public use without a fee. You may use or modify the code covered by this license, and it is designed to give you the freedom to distribute copies of free software. You may charge for this service if you wish.
3. Become familiar with other forms of governing licenses specific to organizations such as Mozilla (with the Mozilla Public License) and NASA (the NASA Open Source Agreement). These licenses govern the products and by-products of media produced by these organizations and their users.
4. Understand that laws governing open-source material require that no preference or discrimination is shown towards any person or group. These licenses also require that no preference or discrimination be shown toward any specific field of endeavor.

Tips & Warnings

• The term "open-source media" may refer to the code or the software used to produce media technology and the media that is produced by it, such as Web logs or blogs, online films and serial video production. Open-source media has also been used to describe collaborative creative projects in various media that encourage the copying and free distribution of parts or the whole of the final product.
• Many opponents to the concept of open-source media projects suggest that by limiting the compensation or ability to seek residual compensation for creative works, the potential creation of useful products is severely limited. To learn more about the laws that govern open-source productions, such as software creation and the licenses that allow their free distribution, visit the Open Source Initiative Web site (see Resources below).