Board of Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) Software Intellectual Property Rights and licensing. Uffe K. Mortensen

Board of Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) Software Intellectual Property Rights and licensing. Uffe K. Mortensen

Introduction - why a guide? Large amount of software products developed by ESA Practise governed by a highly complex set of ESA rules and international rules Need to protect both interests of Member States and of space companies 4 October 200 ESA Board for Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) 2

Terminology IPR (Intellectual Property Right) IPR Owner Patent Copyright Licensee Licensor License, sub-license 4 October 200 ESA Board for Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) 3

ESA Practise Software developed by staff IPR (and copyright) owned by the Agency Software Developed by Contractors General Case IPR owned by company, ESA right to use, copy, sub-license, modify. Operational Software Criteria: Essential for the operation of the Agency, or fundamental intellectual contribution from the Agency s staff. IPR may request the IPR ownership Co-funded Developments Similar to above. Additional restrictions may be agreed with developer. 4 October 200 ESA Board for Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) 4

ESA Handling IPR issues settled before issue of ITT. Initiator determines type of protection required. Recommends choice of licence scheme and IPR ownership. BSSC approval of software related ITTs. IPR issues after product acceptance. Software licencing procedure Cases determined by IPR restrictions in place. Cases determined by intended use (space vs non-space, peaceful purposes, ) Cases determined by licensee with the Member States or outside. 4 October 200 ESA Board for Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) 5

License Types - General Case Non-exclusive, Non-transferable, with: No right to modify the software Limited to the territories of the Member States Use with peaceful, space research and technology only Free of royalty charges No liabilities on the part of the Agency No warranty 4 October 200 ESA Board for Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) 6

License Types - Special Cases License, with limited right to grant sub-licenses e.g. for sub-contractors License, with right to modify software e.g. changing small parts, commercialising product License, as basis for further developments 1) Major new developments, change of developer 2) Open Source - (see later) License, to parties outside the Member States or outside scope of peaceful space research or technology. Special authorisation, royalty fees. 4 October 200 ESA Board for Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) 7

Other licenses Public Domain Software Does not affect IPR IPR owner relinquish copyright voluntarily or by elapsed rights. Public domain software can be the basis of other work. Added work may become public domain or follow IPR restrictions. 4 October 200 ESA Board for Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) 8

Other licenses Open Source Software As public domain but with varying degrees of obligations and restrictions added. Example: GNU GPL Free access to source, downloads Right to use pieces of the software in new products Freedom to distribute copies of free service, distributor may charge for services including distribution Added, identifiable sections of the software, not derived from the open source part, can be considered proprietary. Other common restrictions: Object only distribution Limited community No charges for modifications Obligation to distribute Source code of modifications 4 October 200 ESA Board for Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) 9

Other licenses Open Source Software in ESA contracts Some developments can cause conflicts between general rules of the Agency and conditions imposed by open source licenses Resolved in advance of development, either by waiving rules, or by dividing product into parts that can be handled separately without waiving restrictions. Open source developments by the Agency - new territory, subject of workshop. Industry interest and implementing rules still to be determined. Open source development important for e.g. PPP (public private partnership) projects. Other open source scheme could be considered (e.g. share-holder scheme) 4 October 200 ESA Board for Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) 10

COTS Software Other licenses Commercial packaged products Requires verification that conditions meet the needs of the project. Requires verification that imposed restrictions are enforced with the customer. Proprietary Software. Contractor-owned software, not originally developed as part of ESA contracts. Often implies lower initial price. Can include restrictions that are prohibitive, e.g.: No access to code or documentation No access for re-distribution to competitors No visibility to quality and maintenance options Future products based on proprietary software may lead to monopolistic conditions. 4 October 200 ESA Board for Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) 11

Reference Documents ESA-BR-133 Guide to ESA Software Copyright Protection and Patents. General legal framework, international rules. 1998 BSSC(2000)4 ESA Software Intellectual Property Rights and Licensing. Guide for ESA practices in software developments. 2000 4 October 200 ESA Board for Software Standardisation and Control (BSSC) 12