The Most Powerful File in your Codebase

Over the past half century, open source software has become a major force behind innovation, complete with plenty of social and economic implications. While there’s no denying its positive impact on computing, collaboration, and democratization in virtually every industry it has touched, we often forget that the impact and reach of these improvements is largely possible only because of licensing.

We’ll shine the spotlight on the humble and often overlooked LICENSE file in open source projects. Attendees will get a crash course in copyright law and its relationship to open source. We’ll highlight the key provisions that a project’s license should include. Then we’ll look at some of the most widely adopted licenses and compare the privileges those licenses grant and the limitations they impose on folks who want to use, modify, and distribute the code in a project. Finally, we’ll discuss how to ensure your project’s license supports the long-term vision you have for your project.