Open Source Licensing Education
OSI’s Open Source Licensing Education hub brings together some of the best learning materials from the Open Source Initiative and other trusted organizations. Resources are organized by experience level and topic to help you find the right place to start.
Whether you’re just beginning your Open Source journey, selecting a license for a project, building an Open Source Program Office (OSPO), or managing license compliance across an enterprise, the Open Source ecosystem offers a wealth of educational resources.
Beginner
OSI Licensing 101
Start with the fundamentals of Open Source licensing and intellectual property.
Linux Foundation Training
Introductory course presenting the fundamental concepts of open source licensing.
Linux Professional Institute
Fundamental aspects of free and open source software.
GitHub Open Source Guides
A practical introduction to participating in Open Source communities.
The Open Source Way
A practical guidance on building open, collaborative communities.
Choosing an Open Source License
Additional resources that help developers understand license selection.
- Choose an Open Source License (GitHub)
- FSF Licensing
- REUSE
- TLDR Legal (FOSSA)
Intermediate
OSI Licensing 201
Video recording from Pamela Chestek, Emeritus OSI Board Director.
- Open Source Definition refresher
- License review process
- Legal developments
- AI and licensing
GitHub Open Source Licensing, SBOMs and Security
Video recording from Jeff Luszcz, PM at GitHub OSPO.
- Open source licensing
- SBOMs
- Supply chain security.
Linux Foundation Training
Comprehensive courses covering Open Source development and compliance.
Advanced
OpenChain
International standards and guidance for building effective Open Source compliance programs.
InnerSource Commons
Adoption of Open Source principles and practices within organizations.
CHAOSS
Measuring and improving the health of Open Source communities.
Recommended Books
Books about Open Source licensing and related topics.
- Producing Open Source Software (Karl Fogel) – Free
- Forge Your Future with Open Source (Vicky Brasseur)
- Fostering Open Source Culture (Arun Gupta)
- Open (Source) for Business (Heather Meeker)
- Working in Public (Nadia Eghbal)
Open Source Tools and Standards
ClearlyDefined
Crowdsourced database of licensing metadata for every software component.
SPDX
Open standards for communicating software license and component information.
