Building for others.
WHY IT NEEDS CARE
Obligations may pass to your client, and they may not accept them.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH BEFORE USING ANY COMPONENT IN CLIENT WORK
Whether the licence permits the intended use Whether the client's own obligations are affected What must be disclosed to them
WHAT TO DISCLOSE
What open source components the deliverable contains Their licences Any obligations the client inherits
WHY
Delivering software with undisclosed obligations exposes both parties.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH IN THE AGREEMENT
That the deliverable may contain open source What licences are acceptable to the client Who is responsible for compliance
WHY THE CLIENT MAY OBJECT
Some organisations prohibit certain licences entirely.
WHAT TO ASK
Whether they have a policy.
WHY BEFORE BUILDING
Discovering it at delivery requires rebuilding.
WHAT TO PROVIDE WITH THE DELIVERABLE
A list of components and licences Required notices Source, where obligations require it
WHAT TO BE CAREFUL WITH
Copyleft components in software the client will distribute Components whose licence conflicts with the client's use Code you do not own being presented as original work
WHY THAT LAST POINT
Presenting open source as your own work is misrepresentation.
WHAT TO ESTABLISH
What the client is paying for: your work, integration and support.
WHAT TO AVOID
Charging for open source components as though they were proprietary.
WHAT TO DOCUMENT
What is open source and what you wrote.
WHY
It determines what the client may do with it and what you may reuse.
