[License-discuss] [FAQ] Is <some PHP program> Open Source?

[Lawrence Rosen]

Here is a useful and explicit definition you may want to use:

     The term "Source Code" means the preferred form of the Original Work 
     for making modifications to it and all available documentation
describing 
     how to modify the Original Work.
     http://opensource.org/licenses/OSL-3.0  (section 3)

In all other respects, a copyrightable work (i.e., an Original Work) is the
same work regardless of what form it is in. 

It is "open source" if it is licensed under an open source license *and*
available in a Source Code form (whatever form that may be, depending on the
programming language and the technology). 

/Larry

Lawrence Rosen
Rosenlaw & Einschlag, a technology law firm (www.rosenlaw.com)
3001 King Ranch Rd., Ukiah, CA 95482
Office: 707-485-1242


-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Fontana [mailto:rfontana at redhat.com] 
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2013 6:54 AM
To: license-discuss at opensource.org
Subject: Re: [License-discuss] [FAQ] Is <some PHP program> Open Source?

Would it be clearer to say:

  I have some code written in a scripting language. Does that mean
  it's open source by definition?


'Source code for a program written in a script language' is confusing to me
because, as phrased, it could describe situations where the 'source code'
spoken of is different from the 'program written in a script language'. In
some such situations, the source code could be open source and the program
might be non-open source.


On Fri, Jan 25, 2013 at 12:37:18PM -0200, Bruno Souza wrote:
> How about being more to the point:
> 
> Just because I have the source code for a program written in a script 
> language should I consider it open source?
> 
> We could reference a few script languages on the answer.
> 
> Bruno.
> ----
> Weird? Mobile.
> 
> On Jan 25, 2013 10:06 AM, "Reincke, Karsten" <k.reincke at telekom.de> wrote:
> 
>     > [...]
>     > >
>     > > "You can see the PHP source code, so it's Open Source, right?"
>     >
>     > That could be misleading, since "the PHP source code" could mean
>     > https://github.com/php/php-src.
>     >
>     > How about:
>     >
>     > "FooProgram is written in PHP, and I have the source code.  Does
that
>     > mean it's definitely open source?"
>     >
>     > Matt Flaschen
>     > ___
> 
>     Perhaps this should be generalized because it's not specific for PHP,
but
>     relevant for all interpreter languages:
> 
>     "FooProgram is written in ScriptLanguageBar, and I have the source
code.
>     Does that mean it's definitely open source?"
> 
>     Best regards Karsten Reincke
> 
>     ---
>     Deutsche Telekom AG
>     Products & Innovation
>     Karsten Reincke, PMP(r)
>     Fach-Senior Manager
>     Open Source Review Board - T&P/A&S/TM
>     T-Online-Allee 1
>     64295 Darmstadt
>     Tel.: +49 6151 680 - 8941
>     Fax.: +49 6151 680 - 2529
>     E-Mail k.reincke at telekom.de
>     http://www.telekom.de/
> 
>     Erleben, was verbindet.
> 
> 
> 
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