Understanding the Legal Side of Open Source with Heather Meeker

The Business of Open Source

Heather Meeker, General Partner at OSS Capital, joins me to discuss the legal elements of open source, including options for licensing and business structure.

In this episode, Heather and I explore the intersection of law and open source by reviewing licensing options, challenges, and common mistakes startups make early on. We also get into less common licensing and business models and what might be in store for the future of licensing in open source.

Highlights:

• Heather introduces herself and reviews her background in open source (0:50)
• Legal issues startups can run into early on (2:02)
• Common licensing paradigms in open source (6:00)
• Less common licensing options (10:40)
• The model Heather would use if she were starting a new business (15:21)
• How the challenges commercial open source startups face are different from those proprietary software companies face (16:58)
• Heather shares her idea of the number one mistake new startups make (26:37)
• Heather shares her thoughts on the future of open source startups (27:28)

Links:

Heather

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heathermeeker/
• Twitter: @HeatherMeeker4
• Company: https://oss.capital/
• Website: HeatherMeeker.com