National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of ISO/IEC 5230:2020.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee ICT/1, Information systems co-ordination.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 December 2020.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of document should be noted (see http://www.iso.org/directives).

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see http://www.iso.org/patents) or the IEC list of patent declarations received (see http://patents.iec.ch).

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see http://www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by the Joint Development Foundation (as OpenChain Specification) and drafted in accordance with its editorial rules. It was adopted, under the JTC 1 PAS procedure, by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at http://www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

This document defines the key requirements of a quality open source license compliance program. The objective is to provide a benchmark that builds trust between organizations exchanging software solutions comprised of open source software. Specification conformance provides assurance that a program has been designed to produce the required compliance artifacts (i.e., legal notices, source code and so forth) for each software solution. This document focuses on the “what” and “why” aspects of a program rather than the “how” and “when”. This ensures flexibility for different organizations of different sizes in different markets to choose specific policy and process content that fits their size, goals and scope. For instance, an OpenChain conformantprogram may address a single product line or the entire organization.

This introduction provides the context for all potential users. Clause 2 defines key terms used throughout this document. Clause 3 defines the requirements that a program must satisfy to achieve conformance. A requirement consists of one or more verification materials (i.e., records) that must be produced to satisfy the requirement. Verification materials are not required to be made public, though an organization may choose to provide them to others, potentially under a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

This document was developed as an open initiative with feedback received from more than 200 contributors. Insight into its historical development can be obtained by reviewing the Specification mailing list and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

1 Scope

This document specifies the key requirements of a quality open source license compliance program in order to provide a benchmark that builds trust between organizations exchanging software solutions comprised of open source software.

2 Terms and definitions

3 Requirements

3.1 Program foundation

3.2 Relevant tasks defined and supported

3.3 Open source content review and approval

3.4 Compliance artifact creation and delivery

3.5 Understanding open source community engagements

3.6 Adherence to the specification requirements

BS ISO/IEC 5230:2020

Information technology. OpenChain Specification

Current, Under Review

Published:

31 Dec 2020