Licensing module

modules/licenses/01.slides.pmd

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+<!-- .slide: data-state="title" -->
+
+## Software Licensing
+
+
+
+
+---
+
+<!-- .slide: data-state="standard" -->
+
+## About copyright
+
+- Berne convention
+- Owned by author or employer?
+- Can be licensed
+
+
+Note:
+
+By the Berne convention, software is automatically protected by copyright when it is made. Depending on the country, protection lasts 50 years or more. The owner of the copyright is the only one who can copy, publish, and modify the software.
+
+If you make software as part of a job for an employer, then your employer owns the copyright. Otherwise, you are the owner (unless there's a contract somewhere that says otherwise).
+
+The owner of the copyright on a work can give permission to others to do things they would otherwise not be allowed to do, like copying, publishing and modifying the work. A document that describes what they can do is called a copyright license. These licenses can be given to a specific party, usually as part of a contract, or they can be offered to the general public.
+
+
+---
+
+<!-- .slide: data-state="standard" -->
+
+## Using others' software
+
+- You need a license
+- Open Source makes that easy
+- Different Open Source licenses available
+
+
+Note:
+
+To use software that was made by someone else, you need to (at least) get a copy of it, and that requires permission from the copyright owner, i.e. a license. If the software has an Open Source license, then you have permission to get a copy and run it for any purpose, including commercially, and/or use it in your own software. There will be some conditions attached, which depend on the particular license used.
+
+There are a handful of Open Source licenses available, with different terms. Those differences are especially important when you use a package or library in your own software. There are websites available that explain all the standard Open Source licenses in ordinary language, so that you can easily decide whether you can use a certain software package. You don't need to be (or have) a lawyer to use Open Source software.
+
+
+---
+
+<!-- .slide: data-state="standard" -->
+
+## Who owns a work?
+
+- Work for hire
+- Consortium agreements
+- University policy
+
+
+Note:
+
+In most countries, including The Netherlands, any work you do as part of your tasks as an employee of an organisation belongs to your employer, not to you. After all, they're paying you to do the work. This means that the copyright on any software written by a university employee is owned by to the university. And that means that anyone not working at that university (which may include said employee in the future!) needs permission from the owner to work with the code.
+
+Some limited permission is often granted in the Consortium Agreements typically governing scientific project(s), but these are only valid within the project. To make the software available outside of the project it was developed in, broader permissions must be given. Some universities have a policy on how and under which conditions this can be done; details can typically be had from the library or legal department.
+
+
+---
+
+<!-- .slide: data-state="standard" -->
+
+## Why license your software?
+
+- Public funding
+- Academic freedom of employees
+- Save work by collaborating
+- Increase impact
+
+
+Note:
+
+If a scientist working at a university, in the course of doing their job, creates software, then that software is owned by the university. By default then, it can only be used by that university and its employees. This is an undesirable situation for several reasons.
+
+- First, the software was most likely funded with public money, and should therefore be available to the public, just like papers are published Open Access.
+- Second, researchers frequently change jobs, moving from university to university. Without permission from their previous employers, they would have to start rebuilding their software from scratch every time they move to a new university, which would be very inefficient.
+- Third, many of the most pressing problems that scientist work on involve complex, multifaceted systems that can only be properly studied in collaboration. Where software is involved, which is to say almost everywhere in academic research, researchers need to be able to exchange software and collaborate on its development, including across projects.
+- Finally, doing so will allow them to achieve better results, and continue to build on those results, thus achieving higher impact.
+
+
+---
+
+<!-- .slide: data-state="standard" -->
+
+## Open Sourcing scientific software
+
+- Free, Open Source Software
+- Technology Transfer
+
+
+Note:
+
+Free, Open Source Software (or FOSS, as it's sometimes abbreviated) is software that you are free to 0) use for any purpose, 1) modify to suit your needs, 2) share with others, and 3) share with changes you made, so you can work on it together. That's actually the Free Software definition, but Open Source really just says the same thing in more words, which is why they're usually mentioned together. These are exactly the permissions scientists need to be able to do science together using the software.
+
+Open Source licenses also allow commercial use, which means that they are a very effective means of technology transfer. Since the license terms are the same for everyone, there are no issues with state aid regulations, nor does a market-rate value for the software need to be determined. The standard Open Source licenses are now well understood and trusted by commercial parties, removing the need for complex negotiations on the exact terms. Of course, no payment will be received either. Given that commercial sale of academic software is very rare, it seems that the benefits obtained from the academic collaboration enabled by Open Source far outweigh the potential income loss due to not commercially licensing the software. And note that it is still perfectly possible to launch a spin-off or start-up that offers commercial services related to the software, including support and continued development.
+
+
+
+---
+
+<!-- .slide: data-state="keepintouch" -->
+
+
+www.esciencecenter.nl
+
+[email protected]
+
+020 - 460 47 70

modules/licenses/07.ex_choose_a_license.md

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+## Exercise 1: Choose a license for or using your policy (10 minutes)
+
+One of the concerns typically addressed in a software policy is licensing of software developed at the institution. Policies can choose a single license, or offer a range of options.
+
+Try to find out whether your university has a license policy. What does it say about which license(s) to use? If you don't have a policy yet, which license(s) would you choose for your policy? Why?
+
+Go to [Choosealicense.com](https://choosealicense.com) and play around with the options to help you choose.
+