Open source licensing shift: Fedora blocks Creative Commons CC0

by Luke Mcbride on August 1, 2022

Even organizations that are fully dedicated to software development don’t want to spend their time and competitive energy chasing software compliance. But ignoring changing legal requirements is dangerous.

A recent policy change on a popular software license was caused by patent issues and affects more than just open source projects.

Contract for collaboration

If you spend even a few minutes looking for freely available or public domain images, tools, and content, you’ll see dozens of options listed with a “Creative Commons” license. This alternative to simple copyright allows creators to share their works online and make clear what (if anything) they want in return. The system represents a more nuanced contract between the creator and user than standard copyright.

Authors and inventors can use the Creative Commons to request attribution, collaboration, payment for commercial use, and more. All within an established legal framework of contracts and documentation underlying the whole system.

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An example of an image that uses a Creative Commons license

An example of an image that uses a Creative Commons license (from Sora Shimazaki and Pexels)

More about the Creative Commons project.

A child project prodigy

The Creative Commons legal framework came about independently but mirrors many open software efforts that began in the late 80s and 90s. However, the project has been so successful, it may have outdone its predecessor at least in name recognition. Now, many software projects employ a Creative Commons license for software.

Just one problem: the Creative Commons project itself advises against its use in software.

While an exception was made for the Creative Commons “No Rights Reserved” license or “CC0,” it has not been approved by the Open Source Initiative and now may see more barriers.