{"id":3793,"date":"2009-03-21T12:09:09","date_gmt":"2009-03-21T17:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.iposgoode.ca\/?p=3793"},"modified":"2009-03-21T12:09:09","modified_gmt":"2009-03-21T17:09:09","slug":"open-source-software-how-free-is-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/osgoode\/iposgoode\/2009\/03\/21\/open-source-software-how-free-is-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Source Software: how free is it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Akari Sano is a first year law student at Osgoode Hall and is taking the Legal Values: Challenges in Intellectual Property course. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Open Source Software, the next vendor lock in? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A recent CBC <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/technology\/story\/2009\/02\/12\/tech-feds-open-source.html\">article<\/a> stated the federal government is seeking <a href=\"http:\/\/www.merx.com\/English\/SUPPLIER_Menu.Asp?WCE=Show&amp;TAB=1&amp;PORTAL=MERX&amp;State=7&amp;id=PW-$$EE-015-18733&amp;FED_ONLY=0&amp;hcode=Au64x22Vv9pVNE3IKtFp3Q==\">tenders<\/a> on information about free software for the first time.\u00a0 It quoted Open Source software (OSS) will be considered.\u00a0 Two issues arose from this\u00a0article for me.\u00a0 The article cited various reasons why the government has only started to consider OSS now.\u00a0 One reason for the delay, that licensees are restricted in their choice of complementary software, no longer applies given the recent advances within the Open Source community. \u00a0Non- interoperability should not be a barrier anymore.\u00a0 The other concern is the government is seeking information on OSS, assuming it is free.\u00a0 But is OSS really free?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Vendor lock-in? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The article is correct in that most traditional proprietary software is incompatible with other brands. One of the reasons OSS has not been incorporated into some environments is due to lack of interoperability with programs already in place.\u00a0 In addition, the licensee would not be able to use other brands as part of the license agreement.\u00a0 This is a way for the manufacturer to ensure that their products are continually purchased for upgrades and maintenance.\u00a0 Essentially proprietary programs have shut OSS out, and locked in the licensee.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Microsoft released its <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/interop\/principles\/default.mspx\">Interoperability Principles<\/a><\/em> on Feb. 21, 2008.\u00a0 Principle III: Data Portability is particularly interesting : \"Once customers use one software product to store their data, they should be able to subsequently access that data in a form that permits its use in other software products.\" Microsoft will also use a program similar to OSS called Open Format, which will be available to developers without requiring a license or royalty or other fees.\u00a0 Microsoft writes this will foster continued improvement and facility for third party product development.\u00a0 For OSS proponents, this means programmers have permission to create compatible programs.\u00a0 This is a significant commitment from Microsoft to Open Source.\u00a0\u00a0 If the OSS community uses this opportunity to its fullest, it will essentially negate the vendor lock in argument.\u00a0 OSS programs can complement already established systems in organizations.\u00a0 Infiltration into the government is now possible.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>How free is free? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The other barrier to the widespread use of OSS has been the cost of the program itself.\u00a0 This may be the bigger reason limiting its appeal to organizations such as the government and the public sector.\u00a0 When OSS is downloaded, it is not a nicely packaged program such as Microsoft Office.\u00a0 Instead it is a source code that is unique, needs customization for the particular organization's use, and requires multiple upgrades just for maintenance.\u00a0 OSS requires strong technical skills on a regular basis and that costs money.\u00a0 In addition, the more a program becomes customized, it begins to decrease the wider community's ability, and motivation to collaborate on it.\u00a0 Why would people work on a source code so unique that it is inapplicable to anyone else but that particular user?\u00a0 Thus the more tailored a program becomes, reliance on a dedicated computer support system becomes greater.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>OSS's\u00a0fundamental concepts of interoperability, not charging royalties, and collaboration with the wider Open Source community can be questioned.\u00a0 This begs the question, are you now not locked into OSS? Furthermore, is OSS any different or better than the traditional proprietary software?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Akari Sano is a first year law student at Osgoode Hall and is taking the Legal Values: Challenges in Intellectual Property course. Open Source Software, the next vendor lock in? A recent CBC article stated the federal government is seeking tenders on information about free software for the first time.\u00a0 It quoted Open Source software [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2140,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[60,200,124],"tags":[472],"class_list":["post-3793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ip","category-open-source","category-technology","tag-akari-sano"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Open Source Software: how free is it? - IPOsgoode<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yorku.ca\/osgoode\/iposgoode\/2009\/03\/21\/open-source-software-how-free-is-it\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Open Source Software: how free is it? - IPOsgoode\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Akari Sano is a first year law student at Osgoode Hall and is taking the Legal Values: Challenges in Intellectual Property course. 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