Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Microsoft licenses gets open source approval

news
Oct 16, 20071 min

Microsoft has received OSI (Open Source Initiative) approval of two of its Shared Source software licenses, the Microsoft Public License and Microsoft Reciprocal License, meaning they meet multiple criteria of OSI’s open source definition.

The company has been seen in many circles as an opponent of the open source movement; OSI even noted negative interactions between Microsoft and the open source community. But the approvals mean the licenses have satisfied the 10 criteria of the OSI’s open source definition and should be approved, OSI said.

“As we continue to work with the open source community, we look forward to ongoing feedback on how to improve our participation and provide greater transparency to all of our customers and partners,” said Jon Rosenberg, director of Shared Source programs at Microsoft, in his blog on Tuesday.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

More from this author