Programming Foundations: Open-Source Licensing

Open-source licensing is a way to give back to developer communities and help technology grow at an exponentially faster pace. Open-source licenses allow software to be freely used, modified, or shared, while respecting the original programmer's authorship and intent. Explore the world of open source, and discover how to choose a licensing model for your app, in this Foundations of Programming course with attorney and technologist John V. Petersen.

This is not a coding course. Rather, it's an exploration of the legal and business aspects of open-source software licensing—including topics such as contributor agreements and patent licenses. The major open-source licenses (GPL, MIT, and Apache) are covered in depth, and John also provides an overview of establishing a business entity for your software project: a key factor in the ongoing success of many open-source communities.

Learning objectives
What is a license?
What is a software license?
Understanding the principles of open source
Exploring the three basic licenses: GPL, MIT, and Apache
Choosing the right open-source license
Working with Creative Commons
Dual licensing
Granting contributor license agreements
Establishing a legal business entity for your development project