OPEN SOURCE MOVEMENT: IS IT AN ALTERNATIVE TO COPYRIGHT?

INTRODUCTION Richard Mathew Stallman initiated the ‘Free Software Movement’ and in 1985 founded the Free Software Foundation. He pioneered the concept of copy left and he is the main author of several copy left licenses. Open source movement is promoted by an organization called the “Open Source Initiative” (OSI). The Open Source Initiative was formed and chose the term “open source”. The Open Source Initiative (OSI) acts as the gatekeeper for the definition of open source software.

What is Open Source Movement? The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology. Open source gained hold with the rise of the Internet, and the attendant need for massive retooling of the computing source code. Opening the source code enabled a self-enhancing diversity of production models, communication paths, and interactive communities. The phrase "open-source software" was born to describe the environment that the new copyright, licensing, domain, and consumer issues created.

What is Open Source Movement? Open source software is made available to anybody to use, or to modify as its source code is made available. The freedom of the software is subject only to the stipulation that the user of the software makes any enhancements or changes as freely available to the public. The term open source refers to software in which the source code is freely available for others to view, amend, and adapt. Typically it's created and maintained by a team of developers that crosses institutional and national boundaries.

Examples of Open Source Movement Some of the popular examples of open source software are as follows: Apache — a leading server software and scripting language on the web Mozilla –a web browser and client Wikipedia-Online encyclopedia open for anyone to update and revise content. OpenCola — a cola soft drink, similar to Coca-Cola and Pepsi, whose recipe is open source and developed by volunteers. The taste is said to be comparable to that of the standard beverages. Most corporations producing beverages hold their formulas as closely guarded secrets.

ADVANTAGES OF OPEN SOURCE Some of the major advantages of the Open Source Movement are as follows-  Right to Use  Right to derive  Right to adapt  Single owner

DISADVANTAGES OF OPEN SOURCE A opposed to the traditional kind of copyright, under the open source movement the owner of the software may not make money, and it has more to do with the idea of public good. More liability of Intellectual Property infringement. Direct or indirect breach of open source license Without contractual commitments of quality or fitness, the licencee must accept the risk that the software contains fatal errors, viruses or other problems that may have downstream financial consequence.

COPY LEFT Copy left is opposed to the proprietary nature of copyright. The concept originated with Richard Stallman, but came to public attention with the Linux Operating System developed by Linux Torvalds. It subverts the (copyright system of protecting intellectual property into a system that requires that information (be freely available, modifiable, and transferrable infinitely

COPY LEFT Copyleft basically means that a person has the right to use, modify and distribute software and even improve upon it, without adding any restrictions thereon. As Stallman says, ‘instead of a means of privatizing software, it becomes a means of keeping software free’. Copyleft cannot exist without copyright. In order to have copy left, there must first be copyright in a programme code, which is then distributed to a person who is given the right to use, modify, improve and redistribute the programme code.

RATIONALE BEHIND COPY LEFT Removing the monopoly over knowledge created by copyright--Proponents of copyleft are of the view that it is not necessary that in order to reward the creator of a work, he must be given exclusive rights over it. Taking away the monopoly right will not result in stagnation of innovation and creativity. Encouraging experimentation and interchange with minimum constraints necessary--Copyright in computer programmes prevents a third person from adapting or fixing the programme. As source codes are unavailable, it in turn becomes difficult to develop new and better software. Copyleft, however, allows the user to modify, alter and fix any problem without infringing any copyright in the programme.

COPYRIGHT v/s OPEN SOURCE Open source has certain advantages over copyright in terms of usage:  Open-source software is computer software that is available in source code form for which the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.  License allows modification of derived works and distribution of such work is under the same license as the original software.  No royalty is to be paid for the use of the open source software or in other words it is free for sale.

COPYRIGHT v/s OPEN SOURCE  Open-source software is considerably less expensive than proprietary alternatives.  Access to underlying source code means users can detect and fix programming bugs.  Open-source software can be tailored to a user's specific needs, and upgrades happen at a pace chosen by the user, not the vendor.  Transparency of Open source software improves security because security flaws can be detected and corrected.  Open source allows users to be flexible in their choice of vendors. This prevents users from becoming overly dependent on their technology or support contracts.

COPYRIGHT v/s OPEN SOURCE  Open-source developers have the opportunity to build on each other's ideas.  The availability of Open-source software source code allows a worldwide community of open-source developers to participate in peer-distribution, peer- review, and peer-production.  A program can be improved and redistributed ad infinitum, benefiting the entire community  As the open source model of openness and collaboration expands, the quality of OSS products also improves.

CONCLUSION Copyright is the most usual method of protection for software products. Open source software licenses are enforceable because they use in one form or another copyright law. The rationale for this use is copyright law, by default does not allow for redistribution (even use) of software. The only way redistribution can be done is by granting a specific permission in a license. Open source development is ideally suited to the infrastructure of the Internet and is becoming increasingly ubiquitous. It has the potential to move at speeds as compared to proprietary software.

CONCLUSION (Contd…) With the above discussions it can be observed that Open source movement is not an alternative to copyright. It can be rightly concluded that Open source is a liberal subset of the copyright family, rather than an alternative to copyright. Open source is liberal in the sense that users are free to make improvements and redistribute as long as they abide by certain conditions. The conditions ensure that successive developments of source code may remain available for additional improvement.

MADE BY- ANJALI PRABHAKARAN APARNA JAYARAM FACULTY OF LAW JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA NEW DELHI THANK YOU