As you being to execute against your strategy, develop your product and your contributor community, it’s critical to evaluate your licensing model. This week both John McGaraghan and Michael Wolk, two associates with leading technology law firm Wilson Sonsini, draw right from the foundational business model canvas you’ve done already. They offer us a refresher of the various licenses in open source and review:

• Pros & cons of each license
• When it is best to adopt a license
• The relationship between your contributor community and the license you adopt
• Considerations from your competitive environment
• Impact on your license choice to a potential acquirer

In short, super important stuff for open source entrepreneurs!

Resources

• Presentations (as PDF)

Assignment

• Revisit your Lean Canvas. Then compare this with the licensing options discussed by John (and detailed on the slides at the end of the PDF). Which licenses appear fit best with your strategy?
• Look at your contributor flow. What rights and obligations make the most sense for your community?
• Only after you have viewed the presentation in its entirety, take some time on the slide presented near the end to assess your product, goals, community and competitors and understanding of each license. Map which ones fit the best for your project.