In today’s tech-driven world, more products than ever before are powered by software, including consumer electronics, medical devices, and automotive technology, just to name a few. Open source software (OSS) has become an increasingly common component of these applications, helping bring new technologies and advancements to the marketplace.
Open source software has many benefits to offer, including cost savings, accessibility, and improved product development timing. However, it’s crucial to understand that while OSS is available free of charge, that doesn’t necessarily mean using it is free of legal risks. If OSS is used in a way that doesn’t comply with its terms of use, a company risks being held liable for copyright infringement and losing IP rights to the resulting product.
Given the potential legal risks, it’s important to make sure you have a strong compliance process in place before open source software is introduced to your supply chain. This helps protect both you and your customers from violations of OSS terms.
At Brooks Kushman, we work with our clients to help them manage the terms of open source software as they apply to their products and develop strategies to support compliance with those terms. We provide practical guidance in:
Brooks Kushman has a robust team of attorneys and agents that lead the firm’s open source practice. Each attorney has extensive experience in the field with industry knowledge that extends far beyond the technology itself. We work to understand the unique needs of each client’s supply chain.
We are a proud partner of Rogue Wave Software® and utilize their OpenLogic® proprietary open source scanning engine to analyze our client’s software. Brooks Kushman’s legal expertise combined with Rogue Wave Software auditing services allows us to provide efficient and reliable compliance strategies.
