| SOFTIC Working Report
On the current situation and future prospects for Open Source Software
Open source software is software for which the source code is released and which
anyone is free to modify. Linux is a well recognized example; it has made great
strides in the software market in recent years.
Unfortunately, in our country open source makes up a small portion of our market
and the open-source advocacy is weak. Even though Linux offers many open source
applications that are not seen in the [closed source] application software
market, its market share has not been increasing.
The main cause seems to be uncertainties about the use of open source software:
First, users are uncertain about:
-- Ongoing support and maintenance
-- Quality of the software
Second:
-- questions about the commercial viability open source software
-- developers are nervous about their companies losing market share due to the
commercialization open source software
Third:
Generally acknowledged problems with the GPL. In regards to open source
license,
There are indications that view and interpretations are not settled; also, there
are questions about the applicability of various countries’ national laws.
At this time, open source software is a superior body of software expertise and
is a catalyst for gathering the product of talented experts. Delay in adopting
open source software due to uncertainties and misunderstandings would be a big
loss for our software industry, our government, even our whole nation.
This report was composed with the goal of alleviating some of the uncertainties
surrounding open source software. First, the problem is examined generally and
issues with the legal status of the GPL are raised. The report is split into
two broad areas: “The current status of open source software” and “future
directions of open source software”. These are examined from three contexts:
the end users’ perspective, the software developers’ perspective, and the legal
issues involved (especially concerning the GPL.
In particular, as open source software exists in forms other than Linux, there
are many businesses in a variety of fields which are already using open source
software, as you will see in the contents of the report. We have tried to
illustrate the various advantages and disadvantages of open source software.
Additionally, in this report legal experts are consulted about the many
“unclear” and “difficult to understand” criticisms that have been leveled
against open source software in general. We have arranged a set of guidelines
for the beginner as well as a legal analysis and guide for the specialist
focusing on the GPL, the license used for Linux and the like.
The Commerce and Information Policy Bureau of the Ministry of Economy, Trade,
and Industry designated the Software Information Center to organize a workshop
was from Jan. to Feb. 2003. Academics, legal specialists, entrepreneurs and
representatives of industrial groups were invited to participate. The results
of this examination comprise the latest report.
Our hope is that this report will be widely used as a comprehensive analysis of
the current status of open source software, that it will eliminate much of the
misunderstanding and uncertainty surrounding open source software, and that it
will open the doors for open source software in this country.
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