Question
In case our product includes code from open source software, does that restrict us in protecting our IP? The OSS licenses in question are BSD and GPLv2. Are we affected if the OSS part of the code is only a minor part of the software?
We develop stand-alone software as well as software used to operate the technology we are offering to our customers.
Answers: 1 public & 1 private
Free/OpenSource software has been pretty standardised though not extensively tested in courts. BSD is what they call a permissive license, whereas GPL tends to be viral. Unless it is the affero variant, using GPL software in your toolchain shouldn't impact software deployment and as you say, if only a minor part of code, could be isolated in a utility if you want to quarantine future risk
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