Open source software (OSS) is an essential part of modern software and product development in many industries today. From cloud infrastructures, artificial intelligence frameworks and specialised libraries to essential applications in the automotive sector, critical infrastructures and all other areas, OSS is often the key driver of digital transformation.
However, its use is by no means without legal constraints. Open source licences are legally binding contracts, and failure to comply with them can seriously damage the economic integrity of entire product lines and a company's IP strategy. Taylor Wessing supports you in turning these complex requirements into a strategic competitive advantage.
Our main areas of expertise in the field of open source compliance
The legal classification of OSS licences requires in-depth understanding of legal practice and technical know-how. We provide comprehensive support in the following areas:
- Licence management & IP strategy: We classify the common licence models for you and evaluate them together with you.
- Avoiding code contamination: We identify risks where linking proprietary code with copyleft components could lead to the disclosure of your source code (copyleft effect).
- Transaction consulting (M&A due diligence): We secure your investments by reviewing open source compliance in M&A processes and financing rounds to avoid purchase price discounts or liability risks.
- Industry-specific characteristics: We work with you to identify characteristics in regulated industries such as life sciences, automotive or defence that only allow the use of OSS under certain conditions.
- Supply chain governance: We support suppliers (especially in the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors) in meeting the increasing demands of OEMs for seamless software governance and documentation
Holistic open source corporate governance
Modern risk management requires more than just selective checks. We work with you to establish an open source policy that serves as a strategic guideline for your company.
- Interdisciplinary processes: We work with you to bring together legal, software development, purchasing and sales in a coordinated process.
- Transparency through SBOM: We support the implementation of detailed software bills of materials (SBOM) to ensure that you can provide meaningful information to customers, rights holders and regulatory authorities at any time.
- Audits & training: We minimise liability scenarios preventively by conducting baseline checks of your critical software products and providing regular training for your development teams.
Why Taylor Wessing?
Failure to comply with OSS conditions can lead to injunctions, sales bans or the recall of hardware products. Taylor Wessing combines IT law, IP strategy and technical expertise to make your innovations legally compliant and sustainable. We see open source compliance not as a purely legal task, but as an integral part of your corporate risk management.
