SMU SOE Online Seminar (Sep 16, 2021, 4.00pm-5.30pm): Designing Open Source Licenses

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ABSTRACT Open source licenses are noted for often being self-referential. The two most prominent examples of open source licenses are GPL and BSD. GPL says the next developer cannot go proprietary, and can only go open source with the same license, namely GPL. BSD says the next developer can go proprietary, and can also go open source with any open source license, including BSD. We provide a framework to study other potentially self-referential open source licenses. We construct the universal space of all possible open source licenses that allow finitely many options for the next developer, and explain why GPL and BSD naturally stood out from other licenses as the two most prominent choices for developers going open source. Keywords: open source, licenses, self-referential, GPL, BSD, universal space JEL Codes: L86, O36 Click here to view the paper. Click here to view the CV.		This seminar will be held virtually via Zoom. A confirmation email with the Zoom details will be sent to the registered email by 15 September 2021.
		PRESENTER Kim-Sau Chung Hong Kong Baptist University
		RESEARCH FIELDS Mechanism Design
		DATE: 16 September 2021 (Thursday)
		TIME: 4.00pm - 5.30pm