Software Legal English
Famous open-source projects like Linux, React, and TensorFlow have now become an integral part of our daily lives in various forms.
Open-source technology is utilized in nearly everything we use every day—electronic devices, web services, mobile apps, and more.
Developers can leverage open-source solutions and libraries to build products and services more quickly and efficiently, while consumers can enjoy higher quality services at lower costs.
Having grown with the history of the internet, open-source preserves the core philosophy of openness and connectivity through community-centered collaboration and democratic decision-making processes.
Open-source serves as a public good to humanity, accelerating the advent of the information age and the popularization of IT technology.
However, just because code is released openly doesn't mean all open-source can be used freely.
Using open-source restricted for commercial use without permission or developing projects without proper attribution can result in significant liabilities or grave consequences, such as the suspension of the project.
For instance, Oracle claimed copyright infringement against Google for using Java APIs in the Android operating system and sought $9 billion in damages.
A notable business software company also had to pay over $2 million in damages after losing an open-source license lawsuit.
As these cases illustrate, to legally protect your project and ensure smooth service operation without legal disruptions, it is essential to have a foundational understanding of software licenses.
Among major open-source licenses like the MIT License, BSD License, GPL License, Apache License 2.0, and Mozilla Public License 2.0, some can cause legal issues if attribution is not given or if source codes of derivative works are not shared.
To avoid unnecessary legal problems during project execution, you must clearly understand the legal allowances of key software licenses.
Moreover, since most open-source licenses are documented in English, knowing basic legal English expressions is crucial.
Let's explore fundamental legal English expressions using one of the most universally adopted open-source licenses—the MIT License—as an example.
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