Open Source Initiative

Non-profit organization promoting open-source software

Open Source Initiative

Formation| February 8, 1998 (27 years ago) (1998-02-08)
Type| Standards organization[1]
Location|

* California, U.S.[2]

Area served

| Worldwide

Executive Director

| Stefano Maffulli (September 2021 – present)
Budget| US$209,500 (2019)[2]
Revenue| US$209,500 (2019)[2]
Website| opensource.org

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is a California public benefit corporation "actively involved in Open Source community-building, education, and public advocacy to promote awareness and the importance of non-proprietary software".[3]

## Governance

[edit]

The OSI is a California public-benefit nonprofit corporation, with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.[4] The organization is professionally overseen by an Executive Director and staff, and supported by its Board of Directors responsible for overseeing duty of care, fiduciary duty, and strategic alignment to mission.

## Open Source Definition

[edit]

Main article: the Open Source Definition

The Open Source Definition is a derivative document based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG), released in 1997 by Bruce Perens. As Debian Project Leader, Perens released the scribed DFSG on July 4, 1997. In an announce post, Perens states he hopes other distributions use the DFSG as a model and states "We hope that other software projects, including other Linux distributions, will use this document as a model. We will gladly grant permission for any such use." "Debian's "Social Contract" with the Free Software Community" (Mailing list). 2025-04-24.

Any organization can use the Debian Free Software guidelines by citing the Social Contract. No open source definition required.

Perens modified the Debian Free Software Guidelines into the Open Source Definition by removing Debian references and replacing these with "Open Source". The original announcement of The Open Source Definition happened on February 9, 1998, on Slashdot[5] and elsewhere; the definition was given in Linux Gazette on February 10, 1998.[6]

Perens and Raymond established the Open Source Initiative, an organization intended to promote open source software. Neither Perens nor Raymond are involved in the OSI currently.

The Open Source Definition seems to be a widely accepted standard for open-source software, although open source developers choosing to use GPL, BSD, MIT, Apache licenses for projects do not require any such standard. Additionally, the DFSG could be forked and other derivatives created based on the intent of the original release of the document the Open Source Definition is based upon. [7][8] Providing access to the source code is not enough for software to be considered "open-source": it must also allow modification and redistribution under the same terms and all uses, including commercial use.[9] The Open Source Definition requires that ten criteria be met for a license to be approved.[10][1] It allows both copyleft—where redistribution and derivative works must be released under a free license—and permissive licenses—where derivative works can be released under any license.[1][11][12] Software licenses covered by the Open Source Definition also meet the Free Software Definition and vice versa. Both the Free Software Foundation and the OSI share the goal of supporting free and open-source software.[1]

### License approval process

[edit]

The OSI approves certain licenses as compatible with the definition, and maintains a list of compliant licenses. New licenses have to submit a formal proposal explaining the rationale for the license, comparison with existing approved licenses, and any legal analysis. The proposal is discussed on the OSI mailing list for at least 30 days before being brought to a vote and approved or rejected by the OSI board. Although the OSI has made an effort to have a transparent process, the approval process has been a source of controversy.[13]

Seven approved licenses are particularly recommended by the OSI as "popular, widely used, or having strong communities":[13]

1. Apache License 2.0
2. BSD 3-Clause and BSD 2-Clause Licenses
3. All versions of the GPL
4. All versions of the LGPL
5. MIT License
6. Mozilla Public License 2.0
7. Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL)
8. Eclipse Public License version 2.0

## Open Source AI Definition

[edit]

In 2022, OSI began work on an Open Source AI Definition (OSAID), inviting researchers, developers, and industry representatives to collaborate on a draft in a co-design process.

The release of the Open Source Artificial Intelligence Definition (OSAID) working draft, version 1.0 was launched in October 2024.

## History

[edit]

As a campaign of sorts, "open source" was launched in 1998 by Christine Peterson, Jon "maddog" Hall, Larry Augustin, Eric S. Raymond, Bruce Perens, and others.[14][15]

The group adopted the Open Source Definition for open-source software, based on the Debian Free Software Guidelines. They also established the Open Source Initiative (OSI) as a steward organization for the movement. However, they were unsuccessful in their attempt to secure a trademark for 'open source' to control the use of the term.[16] In 2008, in an apparent effort to reform governance of the organization, the OSI Board invited 50 individuals to join a "Charter Members" group; by 26 July 2008, 42 of the original invitees had accepted the invitations. The full membership of the Charter Members has never been publicly revealed, and the Charter Members group communicated by way of a closed-subscription mailing list, "osi-discuss", with non-public archives.[17]

In 2012, under the leadership of OSI director and then-president Simon Phipps, the OSI began transitioning towards a membership-based governance structure. The OSI initiated an Affiliate Membership program for "government-recognized non-profit charitable and not-for-profit industry associations and academic institutions anywhere in the world".[18] Subsequently, the OSI announced an Individual Membership program[19] and listed a number of Corporate Sponsors.[20]

On November 8, 2013, OSI appointed Patrick Masson as its general manager.[21] From August 2020 to September 2021, Deb Nicholson was the interim general manager.[22] Under the direction of Deborah Nicholson, the interim manager, the voting and election was held with results and then halted and set for re-election due to vulnerabilities in the election process. "This week we found a vulnerability in our voting processes that was exploited and had an impact on the outcome of the recent Board Election."[23] No election results or further updates are posted as of June 2021[update].[citation needed]

In November 2020 the board of directors announced a search for an executive director[24] which was concluded in September 2021 with the appointment of Stefano Maffulli. At the same time, the role of president of the board was abandoned in favor of chair of the board.

## Controversy

[edit]

In October 2009, the OSI lost its corporate status, having been suspended by the state of California for failing to submit paperwork on time.[25]

In January 2020, founder Bruce Perens left OSI over controversy regarding a new license (the Cryptographic Autonomy License), which had been proposed for the OSI's approval.[26] Later, in August 2020, Perens elaborated on his concerns: "We created a tower of babel of licenses. We did not design-in license compliance, and we have a tremendous noncompliance problem that isn't getting better. We can't afford to sue our copyright infringers."[27][28]

Eric S. Raymond, another co-founder of the OSI, was later banned from the OSI mailing list in March 2020.[28] He had claimed "OSI has been suborned and is betraying its founding commitment to freedom" the month prior, taking exception to proposed licensing changes that "would be a direct and egregious violation of OSI's charter and [his] intentions in founding OSI".[29]

The October 2024 release of the Open Source AI Definition (OSAID) was controversial, opening up new disagreements and considerable ill-feeling.[30]

In 2025 a petition has been made "to release the complete, unaltered results of its 2025 Board of Directors elections". One of the argument of the petition's authors is that by "removing candidates and votes after voting concluded, OSI has damaged its credibility".[31]

## See also

[edit]

* Free and open-source software portal

* Digital rights
* Comparison of open-source and closed-source software
* Business models for open-source software
* Commons-based peer production – an economic model for organizing projects without leaders or financial compensation
* Open-source governance – use of open-source principles to transform human social governance
* Techno-progressivism – a stance of active support for the convergence of technological change and social progress
* Open-source-software movement – the evolution and evidence of the open-source ideology
* Open data and Linked data

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Gardler, Ross; Walli, Stephen R (2022). "Evolving Perspective on Community and Governance". Open Source Law, Policy and Practice. Oxford University Press. pp. 47–48, 52. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198862345.003.0002. ISBN 978-0-19-886234-5.
2. ^ a b c "Charity Navigator - Unrated Profile for Open Source Initiative". Archived from the original on 2019-05-12.
3. ^ "About the Open Source Initiative". Open Source Initiative. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
4. ^ Boehm, Mirko; Eisape, Davis (2021). "Standard setting organizations and open source communities: Partners or competitors?". First Monday. doi:10.5210/fm.v26i7.10806. ISSN 1396-0466.
5. ^ "Free Software's New Name". Slashdot. February 9, 1998. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
6. ^ "Perens Open Source Definition LG #26". Linux Documentation Project. 10 Feb 1998.
7. ^ Mertic, John (2023). Open Source Projects - Beyond Code: A blueprint for scalable and sustainable open source projects. Packt Publishing Ltd. p. 5\. ISBN 978-1-83763-385-2.
8. ^ De Maria, Carmelo; Díaz Lantada, Andrés; Di Pietro, Licia; Ravizza, Alice; Ahluwalia, Arti (2022). "Open-Source Medical Devices: Concept, Trends, and Challenges Toward Equitable Healthcare Technology". Engineering Open-Source Medical Devices. Cham: Springer International Publishing. p. 4\. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-79363-0_1. ISBN 978-3-030-79362-3.
9. ^ Greenleaf, Graham; Lindsay, David (2018). Public Rights: Copyright's Public Domains. Cambridge University Press. p. 485\. ISBN 978-1-107-13406-5.
10. ^ Erlich, Zippy (2007). "Open Source Software". Handbook of Research on Open Source Software. IGI Global. pp. 187–188\. ISBN 978-1591409991.
11. ^ Meeker, Heather J. (2008). The Open Source Alternative: Understanding Risks and Leveraging Opportunities. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 21–22\. ISBN 978-0-470-25581-0.
12. ^ Laurent, Andrew M. St (2004). Understanding Open Source and Free Software Licensing: Guide to Navigating Licensing Issues in Existing & New Software. O'Reilly Media, Inc. pp. 9–11\. ISBN 978-0-596-55395-1.
13. ^ a b Smith, P McCoy (2022). "Copyright, Contract, and Licensing in Open Source". Open Source Law, Policy and Practice. Oxford University PressOxford. pp. 108–111\. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198862345.003.0003. ISBN 978-0-19-886234-5.
14. ^ "History of the OSI".
15. ^ "A Look Back at 10 Years of OSI". Archived from the original on 2018-04-29.
16. ^ "Announcement of "OSI Certified" Open Source Mark". Open Source Initiative (Press release). 1999-06-15.
17. ^ "OSI Charter Member Discuss List". Archived from the original on 2013-04-21. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
18. ^ "Become an OSI Affiliate". 22 May 2012.
19. ^ "OSI Announces Individual Membership". Archived from the original on 2019-05-27. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
20. ^ "OSI Corporate Sponsors". 23 July 2023.
21. ^ "OSI Names New General Manager". LWN. 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2014-01-27.
22. ^ "Deb Nicholson to Join Open Source Initiative as Interim General Manager". Software Freedom Conservancy. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
23. ^ "OSI election update". Archived from the original on 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
24. ^ "OSI Seeks to Hire Executive Director | Open Source Initiative". opensource.org. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
25. ^ "Open Source Initiative loses corporate status [LWN.net]". lwn.net. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
26. ^ Cardoza, Christina (January 6, 2020). "OSI co-founder leaves initiative over new license".
27. ^ Perens, Bruce (2020-08-24). "What comes after Open Source?". DebConf20. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
28. ^ a b "Co-founder of OSI Banned From Mailing Lists". www.i-programmer.info.
29. ^ "The right to be rude – Armed and Dangerous". 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2024-11-27.
30. ^ Gall, Richard (2024-11-18). "The Open Source AI Definition: What the Critics Say". The New Stack. Retrieved 2024-11-24.
31. ^ OSI-Concerns. "election-results-2025". Codeberg.org. Retrieved 2025-04-27.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* List of OSI approved licenses

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