We define Open Source
For developers, lawyers and users
To simplify software development and procurement
Our programs
License and legal
Prevents any corporation or trade association from controlling and directing Open Source.
We provide an anchor for open community consensus on what constitutes Open Source.
As a charity, we protect the Open Source principles, enforcing the marks “Certified Open Source” and “Open Source Approved License”.
Policy and standards
Support the community, monitoring policy and standards setting organizations.
As the importance of Open Source grows, so has our support for legislators and policy makers educating them about the Open Source ecosystem, its role in innovation and its value for an open future.
Advocacy and outreach
Convene global conversations with stakeholders, non-profits, corporations and individuals.
Aware that software technologies change, OSI investigates the impacts with its wide network of Affiliate organizations providing a well-informed voice to the ongoing debates around Open Source, from artificial intelligence to security.
Enable permission-less development
Keeping the list of Open Source Approved License®
Developers and lawyers can assume that software released licenses approved by the OSI conform to the Open Source Definition and is indeed Open Source software.
Support compliance managers
Maintaining a crowdsourced database of licensing metadata for every software component
A global community contributes, corrects and curates licensing information found in public repositories for the common good.
Educate communities about policies
Studying legislation as it’s developed and providing public commentary
Our team collaborates with the network of Affiliates to study the impact of upcoming regulations on the Open Source ecosystem.
Join the Alliance to educate and inform US public policy decisions
Latest from the Policy team
Spreading the word about Open Source
Providing a neutral place to discuss and share best practices
We’re hosting meetings, and joining conversations where they happen.
Practical Open Source
This online series is intended as a forum for Open Source practitioners to discuss all the details of implementing open source. Sessions focus on various subjects such as choosing a license, legal aspects, procurement processes, pitching the value of open source and much more.
License Clinic
This workshop covers advanced topics on open source software licenses of interest to the US federal government as well as emerging issues such as the confluence of AI models, licenses and data. It has been created in collaboration with the D.C. legal and technology communities.
Deep Dive
Deep Dive is a new series where OSI dives deep into the topics shaping the future of open source business, ethics and practice. The first Deep Dive focused on AI to help OSI stakeholders frame a conversation to discover what’s acceptable for AI systems to be “Open Source.”
State of the source
The State of the source encourages a global conversation on the current state of open source software: non-technical issues that foster development and community, the licenses that enable collaboration, the practices that promote contribution, and the issues confronting cooperation.
Support Open Source
As a public charity organization, OSI is supported by donations of corporations and individuals. Thanks to our sponsors that support our vision to be the leading voice on policies and principles of Open Source.