Building the case for open-source licences

he New Delhi AI Impact Summit Declaration noted that “opensource AI applications and other accessible AI approaches can contribute to scalability, replicability, and adaptability of AI systems across sectors”.

- Sharmila Nair RV Anuradha

One such accessible approach is the use of open licences. The idea behind open licence is simply that while the originator of an idea remains the owner of the IP, liberalised licensing enables sharing and adaption of the data, thereby allowing for widespread use and enabling innovation.

Typical conditions for open licensing include crediting the original creator and distributing any adaptations or derivative works under the same or compatible open licence. This means if a licensee chooses to share modified versions of the work, they are obligated to do so under the same open licence terms. Wikipedia, for example, uses the Creative Commons-Share Alike licence. The core Web technologies (HTML, HTTP) were released royalty-free by CERN, the EU-based intergovernmental organisation.