OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE RELICENSING

 

Open-source software (OSS) relicensing is a crucial aspect of software evolution on the market, further developing by the community, and its commercial usage. Naturally, derivative work may require different terms and conditions compared to the original work. Permissive licenses allow the license to change and transform the software into a proprietary or to another kind of OSS.

 

It's a very interesting business opportunity: any legal entity or individual entrepreneur can take over an OSS product and handle it further as her/his own. It requires a product name change and some other conditions depending on the specific license. Copyleft or protective licenses, on the other hand, require keeping the original OSS license or, as an alternative, moving to the compatible license.