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OSS Ownership & Licensing |
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OSS are software programs that are distributed with source codes by the author of the software under software licensing terms that allows for the use, customisation and redistribution of the original software.
OSS software are protected by the Malaysian Copyright Act (and international copyright laws) just like any other software programs.
The original author of the OSS software retains the exclusive intellectual property ownership rights to his portion of the source code. The author will then grant certain rights to the user through an OSS license.
When a user customises the OSS software to create a derivative or larger work, then the user should identify the portions of the source code that was modified to retain ownership over his portion of the source code.
OSS software that is developed or customised for the Government of Malaysia by its employees and contractors must indicate ownership over the respective portions of the source code.
OSS licensing allows users the rights to use, customise and redistribute the software subject to certain terms. A common objective of OSS licensing is to allow for sharing of knowledge.
OSS License Definition
Free Distribution
The license shall not restrict any party from selling or giving away the software as a components of an aggregate software distribution containing programs from several different sources. The license shall not require a royalty or other fee for such sale.
Source Code
The program must include source code, and must allow distribution in source code as well as compiled form. Where some form of a product is not dstributed with source code, there must be a well-publicized means of obtaining the source code or no more than a reasonable reproduction cost-preferably, downloading via the Internet without charge. The source code must be the preferred form in which a programmer would modify the program. Deliberately obfuscated source code is not allowed. Intermediate forms such as the output of a preprocessor or translator are not allowed.
Derived Works
The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license of the original software.
Integrity of The Author's Source Code
The license may restrict source-code from being distributed in modified form only if the license allows the distribution of "patch files" with the source code for the purpose of modifying the program at build time. The license must explicitly permit distribution of software built from modified source code. The license may require derived works to carry a different name or version number from the original software.
No Discrimation Against Persons or Groups
The license must not discriminate against any person or group of persons.
No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program in a specific field of endeavor. For exmaple, it may not restrict the program from being used in a business, or from being used for genetic research.
Distribution of License
The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed without the need for execution of an additional license by those parties.
License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
The rights attached to the program must not depend on the program's being part of a particular software distribution. If the program is extarcted from that distribution and used or distributed within the terms of the program's license, all parties to whom the program is redistributed should have the same rights as those are granted in conjunction with the original software distribution.
The License Must Not Restrict Other Software
The license must not place retrictions on other software that is distributed along with the licensed software. For example, the license must not insist that all other programs distributed on the same medium must be open-source software.
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Policy 