Users

Open source software is software developed by and for the user community. Discover the wide variety of open source applications, from productivity applications to calendaring or email software , and learn more about the benefits of personal use.

Developers

Open source projects provide tremendous opportunities for developers to share and learn through collaboration. Find colleagues for your project or join an existing effort. Contributions aren't limited to code, as projects need a diverse range of skills.

Business

Driving innovation requires optimizing how a company creates, deploys & uses software assets. Find out how enterprises have realized the promise of open source: higher quality, greater reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.

Non-Profit

Whether serving as a foundation in support of an open source software project or harnessing open source infrastructure for day-to-day operations in support of any mission, learn how the open source ethos of contribution & community helps make life for NPO & NGO staffers easier.

Education

Many of the world’s most successful open source projects have their roots in the academy. Participation extends beyond adoption and development, and now includes a wide variety of academic programs and research. Discover how your institution can benefit from open source software.

Government

Governments around the globe recognize the value of open source as both a technology solution delivering value to the public they serve as well as an approach for development returning tax-payer investments back to the society they represent.

To promote and protect open source...

As a global non-profit, The Open Source Initiative (OSI) protects and promotes open source software, development and communities, championing software freedom in society through education, collaboration, and infrastructure, stewarding the Open Source Definition (OSD), and preventing abuse of the ideals and ethos inherent to the open source movement. See our about and history pages for more.

Open source software is software that can be freely used, changed, and shared (in modified or unmodified form) by anyone. Open source software is made by many people, and distributed under licenses that comply with the Open Source Definition.

News

The Faces of Open Source: Kate Stewart

Submitted by administrator on Tue, 2017-08-15 07:45

This is the third episode from the series in Shane Martin Coughlan's, "The Faces of Open Source Law," that puts a face to the vibrant open source community, and the fascinating discussions happening within it. This series of interviews focuses on issues related to law affecting open source projects and communities—copyright, licensing, patents, foundations, governance, etc.—and includes interviews with several current and former OSI Board Directors.

Former CIA Dir. Woolsey joins OSI member NAVO in movement to open source elections

Submitted by masson on Mon, 2017-08-14 19:31

7 Rules For Engaging Communities On Legal Matters

Submitted by webmink on Fri, 2017-08-11 08:44

Having watched a fair number of people attempting to engage both the Open Source Initiative’s licensing evaluation community and the Apache Software Foundation’s legal affairs committee, here are some hints and tips for succeeding when your turn comes to conduct a discussion over legal terms with an open source community.

The Faces of Open Source: Luis Villa

Submitted by administrator on Tue, 2017-08-08 14:35

This is the second episode from the series, "The Faces of Open Source Law," by Shane Martin Coughlan. The series puts a face to the vibrant open source community, and the fascinating discussions happening within it, through a series of interviews that we'll be sharing here. This first "season" focuses on issues related to law (copyright, licensing, patents, foundations, governance, etc.) and includes interviews with several current and former OSI Board Directors.

Give Generously! Seven Ways To Help Open Source

Submitted by webmink on Sat, 2017-08-05 13:20

Should you donate money to the open source projects you use? Or is there a better way to help?

Your business most likely depends on open source software. But are you playing your part to make sure it will still be there in the future? For that to happen, the projects where it is both maintained and improved need to flourish.

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