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This greatly reduces contractors risks, enabling them to get work done (given this complex environment). Many projects, particularly the large number of projects managed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF), ask for an employers disclaimer from the contributors employer in a number of circumstances. Government Off-the-Shelf (GOTS), proprietary commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), and OSS COTS are all methods to enable reuse of software across multiple projects. It is available at, The Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum providing guidance on software acquisition which specifically addressed open source software on 1 Jul 2004. The 2009 DoD CIO memo on open source software says, in attachment 2, 2(d), The use of any software without appropriate maintenance and support presents an information assurance risk. Thankfully, there are ways to reduce the risk of executing malicious code when using commercial software (both proprietary and OSS). In 2017, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in Artifex Software, Inc.v. Hancom, Inc., issued a ruling confirming the enforceability of the GNU General Public License. Epitalon (Epithalon) Hexarelin. These services must be genuinely generic in the sense that the applications that use them must not depend on the detailed design of the GPL software to work. Where possible, it may be better to divide such components into smaller components in a way that avoids this issue. Community OSS support is never enough by itself to provide this support, because the OSS community cannot patch your servers or workstations for you. There is no injunctive relief available, and there is no direct cause of action against a contractor that is infringing a patent or copyright with the authorization or consent of the Government (e.g., while performing a contract).. If a government employee enhances or modifies a (copyrighted) open source software program, the resulting work is a joint work (see 17 USC 101) which is partially copyrighted and partially public domain. Clarifying Guidance Regarding Open Source Software (OSS), a list of licenses which have successfully gone through the approval process and comply with the Open Source Definition, publishes a list of licenses that meet the Free Software Definition, good licenses that Fedora has determined are open source software licenses, Federal Source Code Policy, OMB Memo 16-21, National Defense Authorization Act for FY2018, http://www.doncio.navy.mil/contentview.aspx?id=312, http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a450769.pdf, http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy04/m04-16.html, http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r25_2.pdf, Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), 40 CFR, Section 252.227-7014 Rights in Noncommercial Computer Software and Noncommercial Computer Software Documentation, European Interoperability Framework (EIF), Bruce Perens Open Standards: Principles and Practice, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuits 2008 ruling on Jacobsen v. Katzer, The Free-Libre / Open Source Software (FLOSS) License Slide, GPL linking exception term (such as the Classpath exception), Maintaining Permissive-Licensed Files in a GPL-Licensed Project: Guidelines for Developers (Software Freedom Law Center), Creative Commons does not recommend that you use one of their licenses for software, GPL FAQ, Can I use the GPL for something other than software?, GPL FAQ, Who has the power to enforce the GPL?, 2003 MITRE study, Use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the U.S. Department of Defense, Secure Programming for Linux and Unix HOWTO, in 2003 the Linux kernel development process resisted an attack, Software comes from the place where its converted into object code, says CBP, FierceGovernmentIT, Gartner Groups Mark Driver stated in November 2010, Estimating the Total Development Cost of a Linux Distribution, Open Source Software for Imagery & Mapping (OSSIM), Open Source Alternatives (Ben Balter et al.). The following marking should be added to software source code when the government has unlimited rights due to the use of the DFARS 252.227-7014 contract: The U.S. Government has Unlimited Rights in this computer software pursuant to the clause at DFARS 252.227-7014. This can increase the number of potential users. Many software developers find software patents difficult to understand, making it difficult for them to determine if a given patent even applies to a given program. Thus, components that have the potential to (eventually) support many users are more likely to succeed. What are good practices for use of OSS in a larger system? Static attacks (e.g., analyzing the code instead of its execution) can use pattern-matches against binaries - source code is not needed for them either. Computer and electronic hardware that is designed in the same fashion as open source software (OSS) is sometimes termed open source hardware. The Buy American Act does not apply to information technology that is a commercial item, so there is usually no problem for OSS. Yes; Why Open Source Software / Free Software (OSS/FS, FLOSS, or FOSS)? For commercial software, such needed fixes could be provided by a software vendor as part of a warranty, or in the case of OSS, by the government (or its contractors). Q: What policies address the use of open source software (OSS) in the Department of Defense? In some cases a DoD contractor may be required to transfer copyright to the government for works produced under contract (see DFARS 252.227-7020). German courts have enforced the GPL. - White space on the right margin of a populated AF Form 1206 is both accepted and expected; white space will not be an indicator of quality. Most OSS projects have a trusted repository, that is, some (web) location where people can get the official version of the program, as well as related information (documentation, bug report system, mailing lists, etc.). In particular, U.S. law (10 USC 2377) requires a preference for commercial products for procurement of supplies or services. Wikipedias Comparison of OSS hosting facilities page may be helpful in identifying existing hosting facilities, as well as some of their pros and cons. Releasing software as OSS does not mean that organizations will automatically arise to help develop/support it. September 22, 2022. Lawmakers also approved the divestment of 13 . The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. At this time there is no widely-accepted term for software whose source code is available for review but does not meet the definition of open source software (due to restrictions on use, modification, or redistribution). In practice, commercial software (OSS or not) tends to be developed globally, especially when you consider their developers and supply chains. Yes, both the government and contractors may obtain and use trademarks, service marks, and/or certification marks for software, including OSS. Unfortunately, this typically trades off flexibility; the government does not have the right to modify the software, so it cannot fix serious security problems, add arbitrary improvements, or make the software work on platforms of its choosing. 150 Vandenberg Street, Suite 1105 . before starting have a clear understanding of the reasons to migrate; ensure that there is active support for the change from IT staff and users; make sure that there is a champion for change the higher up in the organisation the better; build up expertise and relationships with the OSS movement; ensure that each step in the migration is manageable. Q: How can I avoid failure to comply with an OSS license? On approval, such containers are granted a "Certificate to Field" designation by the Air Force Chief Software Officer. Its flexibility is as high as GOTS, since it can be arbitrarily modified. Many development tools covered by the GPL include libraries and runtimes that are not covered by the GPL itself but the GPL with a runtime exception (e.g., the CLASSPATH exception) that specifically permits development of proprietary software. The United States Air Force operates a service called Iron Bank, which is the DoD Enterprise repository of hardened software containers, many of which are based on open source products. Q: Is there a large risk to DoD contractors that widely-used OSS violates enforceable software patents? Contact Contracting. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has said, in an advisory ruling, that the country of origin of software is the place where the software is converted into object code (Software comes from the place where its converted into object code, says CBP, FierceGovernmentIT), for purposes of granting waivers of certain Buy American restrictions in U.S. law or practice or products offered for sale to the U.S. Government.. The project manager, program manager, or other comparable official determines that it is in the Governments interest to do so, such as through the expectation of future enhancements by others. In most cases, yes. There are substantial benefits, including economic benefits, to the creation and distribution of copyrighted works under public licenses that range far beyond traditional license royalties The choice to exact consideration in the form of compliance with the open source requirements of disclosure and explanation of changes, rather than as a dollar-denominated fee, is entitled to no less legal recognition. Developers/reviewers need security knowledge. Yes, its possible. In short, OSS more accurately reflects the economics of software development; some speculate that this is one reason why OSS has become so common. Q: Why is it important to understand that open source software is commercial software? African nations hold Women, Peace and Security Panel at AACS 2023. This includes the most popular OSS license, the, Weakly Protective (aka weak copyleft): These licenses are a compromise between permissive and strongly protective licenses. As always, if there are questions, consult your attorney to discuss your specific situation. So if the program is being used and not modified (a very common case), this additional term has no impact. Examine if it is truly community-developed - or if there are only a very few developers. If using acronyms and abbreviations, only utilize those identified on the approved Air Force Acronym and Abbreviation List, unless noted by an approved category. Any inconsistencies in this solicitation or contract shall be resolved by giving precedence in the following order: (1) the schedule of supplies/services; (2) the Assignments, Disputes, Payments, Invoice, Other Compliances, and Compliance with Laws Unique to Government Contracts paragraphs of this clause; (3) the clause at 52.212-5; (4) addenda to this solicitation or contract, including any license agreements for computer software; . This strengthens evaluations by focusing on technology specific security requirements. If you know of an existing proprietary product meets your needs, searching for its name plus open source source may help. In addition, ignoring OSS would not be lawful; U.S. law specifically requires consideration of commercial software (including extant OSS, regardless of exactly which license it uses), and specifically instructs departments to pass this requirement to consider commercial items down to contractors and their suppliers at all tiers. Q: When can the U.S. federal government or its contractors publicly release, as OSS, software developed with government funds? Contractors must still abide with all other laws before being allowed to release anything to the public. DAF COVID-19 Statistics - January 2022. Avenir MJ8 Editions of HeatCAD and LoopCAD. There are many alternative clauses in the FAR and DFARS, and specific contracts can (and often do) have different specific agreements on who has which rights to software developed under a government contract. Q: Can contractors develop software for the government and then release it under an open source license? A copyright holder who releases creative works under one of the Creative Common licenses that permit commercial use and modifications would be using an OSS-like approach for such works. For additional information please contact: disa.meade.ie.list.approved-products-certification-office@mail.mil. The doctrine of unclean hands, per law.com, is a legal doctrine which is a defense to a complaint, which states that a party who is asking for a judgment cannot have the help of the court if he/she has done anything unethical in relation to the subject of the lawsuit. Q: Is there a standard marking for software where the government has unlimited rights? 40 CFR, Section 252.227-7014 Rights in Noncommercial Computer Software and Noncommercial Computer Software Documentation defines Commercial computer software as software developed or regularly used for non-governmental purposes which: (i) Has been sold, leased, or licensed to the public; (ii) Has been offered for sale, lease, or license to the public; (iii) Has not been offered, sold, leased, or licensed to the public but will be available for commercial sale, lease, or license in time to satisfy the delivery requirements of this contract; or (iv) Satisfies a criterion expressed in paragraph (a)(1)(i), (ii), or (iii) of this clause and would require only minor modification to meet the requirements of this contract.. The following questions discuss some specific cases. Adobe Acrobat Reader software is copyrighted software which gives users instant access to documents in their original form, independent of computer platform. For example, software that is released to the public as OSS is not considered commercial if it is a type of software that is only used for governmental purposes. Choosing between the various options - particularly between permissive, weakly protective, and strongly protective options - is perhaps the most difficult, because this selection depends on your goals, and there are many opinions on which licenses are most appropriate for different circumstances. This statute says that, An officer or employee of the United States Government or of the District of Columbia government may not accept voluntary services for either government or employ personal services exceeding that authorized by law except for emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property., The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) Office of the General Counsels Principles of Federal Appropriations Law (aka the Red Book) explains federal appropriation law. Thus, complex license management processes to track every installation or use of the software, or who is permitted to use the software, is completely unnecessary. However, the required FAR Clause 52.212-4(d) establishes that This contract is subject to the Contract Disputes Act of 1978, as amended (41 U.S.C. As of 2021, the terms freeware and shareware, do not appear to have official definitions used by the United States Government, but historically (for example in the now-superseded DoD Instruction 8500.2) these terms have been used specifically for software distributed without cost where the Government does not have access to the original source code. Boundary Protection Devices and Systems - 41 Certified Products. Parties are innocent until proven guilty, so if there. The, Educate all software developers that they must comply with all valid licenses - including both proprietary. Thankfully, such analyses has already been performed on the common OSS licenses, which tend to be mutually compatible. Q: What are antonyms for open source software? By some definitions this is technically not an open source license, because no license is needed, but such public domain software can be legally used, modified, and combined with other software without restriction. Open source software is also called Free software, libre software, Free/open source software (FOSS or F/OSS), and Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS). Q: Is there a large risk that widely-used OSS unlawfully includes proprietary software (in violation of copyright)? Document from where and when any external software was acquired, as well as the license conditions, so that future users and maintainers can easily comply with the license terms. In particular, note that the costs borne by a particular organization are typically only those for whatever improvements or services are used (e.g., installation, configuration, help desk, etc.). The. Many analyses focus on versions of the GNU General Public License (GPL), since this is the most common OSS license, but analyses for other licenses are also available. OSS programs can typically be simply downloaded and tried out, making it much easier for people to try it out and encouraging widespread use. These lists apply to all NSA/CSS elements, contractors, and personnel, and pertains to all IS storage devices that they use. OSS can often be purchased (directly, or as a support contract), and such purchases often include some sort of indemnification. Knowledge is more important than the licensing scheme. Under the default DFARS and FAR rules and processes, the contractor often keeps and exercise the rights of a copyright holder, which enables them to release that software as open source software (as long as other laws and regulations are met). In the DoD, the GIG Technical Guidance Federation is a useful resource for identifying recommended standards (which tend to be open standards). Many prefer unified diff patches, generated by diff -u or similar commands. This resource contains Facility-Related Control Systems (FRCS) guidance, reference materials, checklists and templates.The DoD has adopted the Risk Management Framework (RMF) for all Information Technology and Operational Technology networks, components and devices to include FRCS. 2021.04.30 2023.04.30 Apple Inc. Apple FileVault 2 on T2 systems running macOS Catalina 10.15: 11078 . It states that in 1913, the Attorney General developed an opinion (30 Op. Q: Can the government or contractor use trademarks, service marks, and/or certification marks with OSS projects? Since OSS provides source code, there is no problem. While this argument may be valid, we know of no court decision or legal opinion confirming this. In nearly all cases, pre-existing OSS are commercial products, and thus their use is governed by the rules for including any commercial products in the deliverable. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) interprets linking a GPL program with another program as creating a derivative work, and thus imposing this license term in such cases. However, support from in-house staff, augmented by the OSS community, may be (and often is) sufficient. GOTS software should not be released when it implements a strategic innovation, i.e. In that case, the U.S. government might choose to continue to use the version to which it has unlimited rights, or it might use the publicly-available commercial version available to the government through that versions commercial license (the GPL in this case). Some protocols and formats have been specifically devised and reviewed to avoid patents; using them is more likely to avoid problems. Under U.S. copyright law, users must have permission (i.e. Do you have permission to release to the public (classification, distribution statements, export controls)? "acquire commercial services, commercial products, or nondevelopmental items other than commercial products to meet the needs of the agency; require prime contractors and subcontractors at all levels under the agency contracts to incorporate commercial services, commercial products, or nondevelopmental items other than commercial products as components of items supplied to the agency; modify requirements in appropriate cases to ensure that the requirements can be met by commercial services or commercial products or, to the extent that commercial products suitable to meet the agencys needs are not available, nondevelopmental items other than commercial products in response to agency solicitations; state specifications in terms that enable and encourage bidders and offerors to supply commercial services or commercial products or, to the extent that commercial products suitable to meet the agencys needs are not available, nondevelopmental items other than commercial products in response to the agency solicitations; revise the agencys procurement policies, practices, and procedures not required by law to reduce any impediments in those policies, practices, and procedures to the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services; and, require training of appropriate personnel in the acquisition of commercial products and commercial services.". This is not uncommon. As noted by the 16 October 2009 policy memorandum from the DoD CIO, in almost all cases OSS is a commercial item as defined by US Law (Title 41) and regulation (the FAR). If some portion of the software is protected by copyright, then the combined software work can be released under a copyright license. Bases. It's likely that peptides are in fact banned from the military, but until we get a straight answer we'll leave this question open-ended. If such software includes third-party components that were not produced in performace of that contract, the contractor is generally responsible for acquiring those components with acceptable licenses that premit the government to use that software. Release modifications under same license. Use of the DODIN APL allows DOD Components to purchase and operate systems over all DOD network infrastructures. Where possible, software developed partly by government funds should broken into a set of smaller components at the lowest practicable level so the rules can be applied separately to each one. disa.meade.ie.list.approved-products-certification-office@mail.mil. This memorandum only applies to Navy and Marine Corps commands, but may be a useful reference for others. This risk is mitigated by reviewing software (in particular, for classification and export control issues) before public release. As noted in the article Open Source memo doesnt mandate a support vendor (by David Perera, FierceGovernmentIT, May 23, 2012), the intent of the memo was not to issue a blanket requirement that all open source software come bundled with contractor support or else it cant be used If a Defense agency is able to sustain the open source software with its own skills and talents then that can be enough to satisfy the intent of the memo. In addition, How robust the support plan need be can also vary on the nature of the software itself For command and control software, the degree would have to be greater than for something thats not so critical to mission execution. A weakly-protective license is a compromise between the two, preventing the covered library from becoming proprietary yet permitting it to be embedded in larger proprietary works. Her work has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the Frederick News-Post (Md. If there are reviewers from many different backgrounds (e.g., different countries), this can also reduce certain risks. The intended audience of this tool is emergency managers, first responders, and other homeland security professionals. Where it is important, examining the security posture of the supplier (the OSS project) and scanning/testing/evaluating the software may also be wise. Most commercial software (including OSS) is not designed for such purposes. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.. It is usually far better to stick to licenses that have already gone through legal review and are widely used in the commercial world. Open standards also make it easier for OSS developers to create their projects, because the standard itself helps developers know what to do. This has never been true, and explaining this takes little time. If that competitors use of OSS results in an advantage to the DoD (such as lower cost, faster schedule, increased performance, or other factors such as increased flexibility), contractors should expect that the DoD will choose the better bid. Approved by AF/SG3/5P on 13 May 2019 7700 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, VA 22042-5158 Category For at least 7 years, Borlands Interbase (a proprietary database program) had embedded in it a back door; the username politically, password correct, would immediately give the requestor complete control over the database, a fact unknown to its users. Choose a widely-used existing license; do not create a new license. DSEI 2021, ExCel, LONDON, UK - 14 September 2021 - Curtiss-Wright's Defense Solutions division (Bays 22-26 ExCeL Exhibition Centre), a trusted supplier of tactical data link (TDL) software and hardware solutions engineered to succeed, announced that it has received certification from . February 9, 2018. 000+ postings in Shaw Air Force Base, SC and other big cities in USA. Comfortable shoes. The Air Force separated 610 Airmen for declining the once-mandated COVID-19 vaccination. No. As with all commercial items, the DoD must comply with the items license when using the item. The term has primarily been used to reflect the free release of information about the hardware design, such as schematics, bill of materials and PCB layout data, or its representation in a hardware description language (HDL), often with the use of open source software to drive the hardware. If the supplier attains a monopoly or it is difficult to switch from the supplier, the costs may skyrocket. Such software does not normally undergo widespread public review, indeed, the source code is typically not provided to the public and there are often license clauses that attempt to inhibit review further (e.g., forbidding reverse engineering and/or forbidding the public disclosure of analysis results). Thus, as long as the software has at least one non-governmental use, software licensed (or offered for license) to the public is a commercial product for procurement purposes. Even if an OTD project is not OSS itself, an OTD project will typically use, improve, or create OSS components. 1342 the Attorney General drew a distinction that the Comptroller of the Treasury thereafter adopted, and that GAO and the Justice Department continue to follow to this daythe distinction between voluntary services and gratuitous services. Some key text from this opinion, as identified by the red book, are: [I]t seems plain that the words voluntary service were not intended to be synonymous with gratuitous service it is evident that the evil at which Congress was aiming was not appointment or employment for authorized services without compensation, but the acceptance of unauthorized services not intended or agreed to be gratuitous and therefore likely to afford a basis for a future claim upon Congress.