UCL and open source

UCL’s position on open source is given by the staff guidance on intellectual property (UCL credentials required to access):

[…] staff are encouraged to develop and use software as part of their research activity. You can decide how that software is shared with others (e.g. releasing under an open source licence), provided that there are no other restrictions on doing this (e.g. work being done under a collaboration agreement with an external party may make different provisions for ownership of intellectual property.)

The same applies to any programme developed by UCL staff using open source software, e.g. via GNU General Public Licence (GPL). UCL would own any intellectual property in the new software created, but UCL (acting through staff members) will need to comply with the terms of the GPL, e.g. to make the new software available on an open source basis. In practical terms this will involve UCL staff members complying with the terms of open source licences.

That is: UCL retains the intellectual property of any software written by members of staff but does not object to sharing software under open source licences.

ARC and open source

The Centre for Advanced Research computing recommends that people always add a licence and copyright to any software that is produced and shared with a third party. However ARC does not offer legal advice.

Which licence?

We recommend you start with choosealicense.com. We’ve also found the European Commission’s tool for comparing software licences to be helpful for comparing compatibility of different licences.

You should look at what is common in the research field or technology stack you are working with, and generally follow suit. In particular, check your software dependencies to see what licences they use, and ensure that your chosen licence is compatible with them.

Applying the licence

Avoid modifying the text of the licence you choose. We have seen instances in the past where people have customised a licence, which has inadvertently rendered the software unusable from a legal standpoint.

Copyright

Software created by staff represents an “intellectual asset” for the university. Many licenses have a line for the copyright holder. In such cases, you should use:

“Copyright [year] University College London”.

The copyright holder of a piece of software is different if the developer is a student when the code is written rather than an employee of the university (or any other company for that matter). In such cases, and particularly for collaborative work, the IP ownership and licensing should be discussed earlier and a written agreement reached, as changing this later can be complicated!

Where to get legal advice

UCL has a legal services team who can be contacted for detailed advice.