Open Source Collaboration in Higher Education: Guidelines and Report of the Licensing and Policy Framework Summit for Software Sharing in Higher Education

Abstract

Higher education has long valued the collaborative production and sharing of knowledge. Thus, the rise of software communities powered by the near frictionless cost of the Internet and open source software production techniques seems a natural fit for colleges and universities. One vexing challenge, however, has been finding a common legal and policy framework for software contributions, licensing, and distribution of collaboratively developed work. In the absence of a common framework, heterogeneous policies and licenses will remain an unhealthy drag on considerable economies that we can harness when we benefit from others’ investments. Colleges and universities, as the primary beneficiary of software sharing, must be proactive in creating, adopting, and advocating for a common framework if we are to ever take full advantage of these opportunities. We are grateful that the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation recognizes this problem and funded the October 2006 gathering of some thought leaders to work on these challenges. Our distinguished attendees were drawn from university legal counsel, technology transfer offices, open source projects, governmental funding agencies, and foundations, with representatives from multiple continents. We worked hard via electronic communication before the summit, during two days of intensive face-to-face discussions, and through much follow up afterward. The electronic communications were open to all at http://collabtools.org. This document is one of the work products of the summit, and it includes a set of educational materials for an institution’s engagement with open source application software. Action and implementation will be the key arbiter of value, and we urge institutions, projects, and funding agencies to engage in the ongoing work of refining and implementing the work started here.