Certification Mark

The Open Source Definition spells out the essential
qualities of open source software. Unfortunately, the term "open source"
itself is subject to misuse, and because it's descriptive, it can't be
protected as a trademark (which would have been our first choice). Since
the community needs a reliable way of knowing whether a piece of software
really is open source, OSI is registering a trademark, Open Source Initiative Approved, for this
purpose. If you see this mark on a piece of
software, either the software really is being distributed under a license
that conforms to the Open Source Definition, or the distributor is misusing
the mark and thereby breaking the law.

The Open Source Initative Approved mark applies to software, not to
licenses. What people really want to know is that a package consisting of
software together with its accompanying license is an open source
distribution. Also, licenses alone probably wouldn't qualify as "goods",
which is what the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office registers certification
marks for. However, software authors obviously have to be able to identify
their distributions as Open Source Initiative Approved software,
when appropriate, without asking us ("self-certification"). So
certification comes in two steps:

• OSI maintains a list of open
  source licenses that conform to the Open Source Definition, have been
  through public scrutiny, and have been approved by us. If you have a
  license that you would like added to this list, please contact license-approval@opensource.org,
  which starts the process described here.
• If you want to use the Open Source Initative Approved mark on your
  software, you can do this by distributing the software with an approved
  license from the list and marking the software appropriately, as described

  here.

The above was just a summary. Here are the details on getting licenses
approved, and on using the Open Source Initative Approved mark on your
software.

Getting a License Approved

1. Put the license on a web page in HTML form. We will
   convert it into the same style as the existing approved licenses. You can help us by
   publishing it in that style yourself to save us the conversion step. ASCII text is preferred if asked to post your license to the 'licence-discuss' mailing list.

2. Tell us which existing OSI-approved license is most similar to
   your license. Explain why that license will not suffice for
   your needs. If your proposed license is derived from a license we have
   already approved, describe exactly what you have changed. This
   document is not part of the license; it is solely to help the
   board understand and review your license.

3. Explain how software distributed under your license can
   be used in conjunction with software distributed under other
   open source licenses. Which license do you think will take
   precedence for derivative or combined works? Is there any
   software license that is entirely incompatible with your proposed
   license?.

4. Send your proposed license by email to license-approval@opensource.org.
   Indicate in the email whether you want the license posted to the
   license-discuss list with your identification or anonymously. (We are
   willing to consider licenses that the author doesn't want posted at all, but
   since community review is an important part of the approval process, we will
   have to circulate such licenses privately to individual reviewers: because
   of this, licenses not posted to license-discuss at all may take longer to
   approve, and are likely to require more interaction with you.)
   You are invited to follow discussion of the licenses by subscribing to

   license-discuss-subscribe@opensource.org.
   This mailing-list is archived here.

5. If we find that the license does not conform to the Open Source
   Definition, we will work with you to resolve the problems.
6. At the same time, we will monitor the license-discuss list and work
   with you to resolve any problems uncovered in public comment.
7. As part of this process, we may also seek outside legal advice on
   license issues.
8. Once we are assured that the license conforms to the
   Open Source Definition and has
   received thorough discussion on license-discuss or by other reviewers, and there are
   no remaining issues that we judge significant, we will notify you that the
   license has been approved, copy it to our website, and add it to the list
   below.

QUICK FAQ: 1) The board meets as needed and on the last Wednesday of every month.
Motions may be entered at any time but resolutions are only passed at
scheduled meetings or when all board members have voted via email. 2) You should
hear back from us within two months. Due to various people's travel schedules
we cannot count on having a quorum every month.

Using the Mark

You may use the Open Source Initiative Approved mark on any software that is
distributed under an OSI-approved license.

To identify your software distribution as Open Source Initative Approved,
you must attach one of the following two notices, unmodified, to the
software, as described below. The full notice is:

This software is Open Source Initiative approved Open Source Software.
Open Source Initative Approved is a trademark of the Open Source Initiative.

The shorter notice is:

Open Source Initative Approved Open Source Software

Each form of distribution of your software has its own requirements:

• If the software is being distributed in electronic form (not in tangible
  form), you must put the full notice in a README file, or other similar file
  intended to be the first file that a human user would read.
• If the software is being distributed in tangible form, you must do all of
  the following that are applicable:
• If the software is distributed with any accompanying printed matter, you
  must place the full notice in the printed matter.
• If the software is distributed on removable information media such as
  diskettes, CD-ROM, cartridge tape, etc., on which it is physically possible
  to place at least the shorter notice in a manner that can be read by the
  unaided human eye without impairing the functioning of the media, you must
  place either the full or the shorter notice on the media.
• If the tangible object containing the software is distributed in a package
  that prevents the notice (if any) on the object from being read, you must
  place the full notice on the outside of the package.

If none of the above apply to your distribution, contact us, and we'll add
guidelines for your situation to this list.

You can also browse a list of OSI-approved licenses.