August 20, 2010 – Open source has become very popular in the corporate world as of lately. But where exactly does your own open source come from, and better yet, how compliant are you? With the expanding use of open source, a closer look was recently discussed in CMSWire’s article “GRC Roll-up: Linux Foundation Assesses Open Source Compliance, MetaVis’s SharePoint Governance.”   

Announcing that this problem needs to be addressed, the Linux Foundation has come up with an Open Compliance Program made up of six elements. One of those elements is a directory that includes open source compliance officers who interact with companies’ open source compliance officers.

Going along with the elements are three additional open source scanning tools able to identify the origin and license of source code through a Dependency Checker, Bill of Material Difference Checker, and a Code Janitor. Like everything else, the ultimate goal is to simplify the management of open source licenses, lower the price and make them easily available, and finally to avoid unnecessary lawsuits. Sounds good, but will it be able to deliver?  

Glenn Black

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