Free and Open Source Software and FRAND-based patent licenses How to mediate between Standard Essential Patent and Free and Open Source Software

Journal article

25 pages

1747-1796

In the context of digital transformation, both standards and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) can be seen as key to success for innovation. However, the increasing role of FOSS in the ICT sector has provoked the question of interplay and compatibility between FOSS and standardization processes. The goal of this article is to provide an overview of the different licensing regimes, FOSS licenses and fair, reasonable, and non‐discriminatory (FRAND)‐based licenses, and to shed some light on the current debate by analyzing possible tensions between some of the most prominent FOSS licenses and their interaction with FRAND‐based patent licenses. The article will begin with an overview of the history and context of FOSS licenses and FRAND‐based licensing regimes, continue with a legal review of the actual language of prominent FOSS licenses, and provide further thoughts on future opportunities and challenges for the interaction between FOSS projects and standard processes, with a particular view on FOSS implementations of standards.

Published in : The Journal of World Intellectual Property, vol. 22, no. 3-4 (2019), pp. 78-102.

[Hoboken, New Jersey] : John Wiley & Sons, 2019.

English

CC BY 4.0