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Shane Coughlan

Shane Coughlan is an expert in communication, security and business development. His professional accomplishments include spearheading the licensing team that elevated Open Invention Network into the largest patent non-aggression community in history, establishing the leading professional network of Open Source legal experts and aligning stakeholders to launch both the first law journal and the first law book dedicated to Open Source. Shane has extensive knowledge of Open Source governance, internal process development, supply chain management and community building. His experience includes engagement with the enterprise, embedded, mobile and automotive industries.

Jun 06
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OpenChain Project Welcomes NextCloud

By News

OpenChain Project Welcomes NextCloud

SAN FRANCISCO, June 6, 2017 — The OpenChain Project today announced that Nextcloud GmbH has become the latest OpenChain Conformant organization. The OpenChain Project, hosted by The Linux Foundation®, is the industry standard for managing open source software license compliance across the supply chain.

“OpenChain Conformance is designed for companies of all sizes that deal with open source software,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Program Manager. “NextCloud is a high profile, high growth startup that adheres to the same overarching compliance processes as multinationals. It is a clear example of why OpenChain Conformance is the correct approach to establishing an industry standard for open source compliance in the supply chain.”

“Nextcloud is 100% open source, avoiding the legal risks of mixing proprietary and incompatible open source licenses and providing the full benefit of open, transparent development”,  said Frank Karlitschek, managing director at Nextcloud GmbH. “Compliance with open source licenses is an important matter for us and we’re glad to participate in the OpenChain program, using their approach to help verify compliance, giving customers increased peace of mind with regards to license compliance.”

The OpenChain Project identifies key recommended processes for effective open source management. The project builds trust in open source by making open source license compliance simpler and more consistent. The OpenChain Specification defines a core set of requirements every quality compliance program must satisfy. The OpenChain Curriculum provides the educational foundation for open source processes and solutions, whilst meeting a key requirement of the OpenChain Specification. OpenChain Conformance allows organizations to display their adherence to these requirements. The result is that open source license compliance becomes more predictable, understandable and efficient for participants of the software supply chain.

More information is available from the OpenChain Project website at www.openchainproject.org. Companies of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to use the free Online Self-Certification, and to support building a web of trust for open source compliance across the global supply chain.

Additional Resources

About Nextcloud

Nextcloud offers an industry-leading fully open source solution for on-premise data handling and communication with an uncompromising focus on security and privacy and unprecedented scalability. Nextcloud brings together universal access to data with next-generation secure communication and collaboration capabilities under direct control of IT and integrated with existing compliant infrastructure. Nextcloud’s open, modular architecture, emphasis on security and advanced federation capabilities enable modern enterprises to leverage their existing assets within and across the borders of their organization. For more information, visit https://nextcloud.com or follow @Nextclouders on Twitter.

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

# # #

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Media Contact

Dan Brown

The Linux Foundation

pr@linuxfoundation.org

May 31
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OpenChain Project Releases Translations and Onboarding Packages

By News

OpenChain Project Releases Translations and Onboarding Packages

TOKYO (Open Source Summit Japan), May 31, 2017 — The OpenChain Project today announced the OpenChain™ Specification is officially available in Japanese and translations are underway in seven other languages. OpenChain has also launched an Onboarding Package to make it easier for decision-makers to engage with the project. The OpenChain Project, hosted by The Linux Foundation®, is the industry standard for managing open source software license compliance across the supply chain.

“This marks another milestone in establishing the OpenChain Specification as the standard for trust around open source compliance in the supply chain,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Program Manager. “We want to ensure the OpenChain Project becomes more internationalized and easier to understand with each passing month. In the near term you can expect expanded Japanese support for our curriculum and Onboarding Package along with Chinese and Spanish support for the specification. We have a simply terrific team of volunteers stepping forward to help share the OpenChain Project with the world.”

The OpenChain Project identifies key recommended processes for effective open source management. The project builds trust in open source by making open source license compliance simpler and more consistent. The OpenChain Specification defines a core set of requirements every quality compliance program must satisfy. The OpenChain Curriculum provides the educational foundation for open source processes and solutions, whilst meeting a key requirement of the OpenChain Specification. OpenChain Conformance allows organizations to display their adherence to these requirements. The result is that open source license compliance becomes more predictable, understandable and efficient for participants of the software supply chain.

The OpenChain Specification translations and Onboarding Package are available from the project website at www.openchainproject.org. Companies of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to use the free Online Self-Certification, and to support building a web of trust for open source compliance across the global supply chain.

Additional Resources

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

# # #

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Media Contact

Dan Brown

The Linux Foundation

pr@linuxfoundation.org

May 31
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Exploring Topical Issues at Open Source Summit Japan

By News

Exploring Topical Issues at Open Source Summit Japan

SAN FRANCISCO, May 31, 2017 — Shane Coughlan, the OpenChain Program Manager, today discussed ‘The Rise of Copyright Trolls‘ at the Open Source Summit Japan.

“Standards and norms of behavior are critical to the smooth functioning of the international open source community,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Program Manager. “Issues like open source compliance are carefully addressed in a measured, realistic manner by projects such as OpenChain. The vast majority of our energy can and should be focused on such positive activities. At the same time, it is worth exploring challenges posed by actors who may not adhere to the expectations of the community, and to discuss how their actions may be reasonably addressed.”

The OpenChain Project identifies key recommended processes for effective open source management. The project builds trust in open source by making open source license compliance simpler and more consistent. The OpenChain Specification defines a core set of requirements every quality compliance program must satisfy. The OpenChain Curriculum provides the educational foundation for open source processes and solutions, whilst meeting a key requirement of the OpenChain Specification. OpenChain Conformance allows organizations to display their adherence to these requirements. The result is that open source license compliance becomes more predictable, understandable and efficient for participants of the software supply chain.

More information is available from the OpenChain Project website at www.openchainproject.org. Companies of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to use the free Online Self-Certification, and to support building a web of trust for open source compliance across the global supply chain.

Additional Resources

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

# # #

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

May 30
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Special Seminar to Discuss The OpenChain Project in Seoul

By News

Special Seminar to Discuss The OpenChain Project in Seoul

SEOUL, May 30, 2017 — The OpenChain Project was discussed today at a special seminar hosted by BKL law office in Seoul, Korea to a select audience of major companies involved in consumer electronics, telecommunications and internet services. The OpenChain Project, hosted by The Linux Foundation®, is the industry standard for managing open source software license compliance across the supply chain. 

“We are delighted to see word spreading about the OpenChain Project, the OpenChain Specification and OpenChain Conformance ,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Program Manager. “With the recent launch of the OpenChain Project’s Onboarding Handout, Onboarding Slides and our Online Self-Certification it is easier than ever to build increased trust around open source compliance in the supply chain.”

The OpenChain Project identifies key recommended processes for effective open source management. The project builds trust in open source by making open source license compliance simpler and more consistent. The OpenChain Specification defines a core set of requirements every quality compliance program must satisfy. The OpenChain Curriculum provides the educational foundation for open source processes and solutions, whilst meeting a key requirement of the OpenChain Specification. OpenChain Conformance allows organizations to display their adherence to these requirements. The result is that open source license compliance becomes more predictable, understandable and efficient for participants of the software supply chain.

More information is available from the OpenChain Project website at www.openchainproject.org. Companies of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to use the free Online Self-Certification, and to support building a web of trust for open source compliance across the global supply chain.

Additional Resources

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

# # #

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Media Contact

Dan Brown

The Linux Foundation

pr@linuxfoundation.org

May 27
Love0

OpenChain Newsletter #1

By Monthly Newsletter


Newsletter #1, May 2017

Welcome to the first OpenChain newsletter! This monthly round-up of developments provides a simple way to keep track of our progress. You can expect it to act as a heartbeat for what’s hot right now, what’s coming next, and how you engage. Comments, suggestions and contributions are always welcome at coughlan@linux.com!

Shane Coughlan
OpenChain Program Manager

OpenChain 1.1 Launch

The OpenChain Specification was originally launched in October 2016 and realized the goal of providing an industry standard for supply chain license compliance. In late April we took it further with the release of OpenChain Specification 1.1. This refined, easier to understand document incorporated suggestions for improvement received from over 100 contributors. It is supported by a new, free online self-certification process and refined curriculum material. Check out the press release to learn more.

OpenChain is now ready for mass-market adoption and we are proud to announce a 500% increase in conformant organizations over our previous specification. Siemens, Qualcomm, Pelagicore, Wind River and Harman self-certified in advance of our April 28th launch via the new online self-certification site. Well done all!

Want to self-certify? Start here: https://www.openchainproject.org/conformance

OpenChain Website Relaunch

The OpenChain 1.1 launch was accompanied by a revamp of our website. It is now more comprehensive, clearer and designed to continually improve over time. Key improvements include specialized sections for each of our work teams: Specification, Conformance and Curriculum. You will also find an updated FAQ, expanded news section and a dedicated press resource center. Check it out at www.openchainproject.org

OpenChain in the News

The OpenChain 1.1 launch had a great reception from the media. You can find us in:

OpenChain on Social Media

As OpenChain evolves towards broader adoption we have improved our outreach material. One of the most important things is making us easier to find. To accomplish this we have established a social media presence across several platforms.

OpenChain Internationalization

Another important part of getting OpenChain adopted is ensuring that it is accessible across cultures and languages. We are delighted to announce that OpenChain has eight translations of the Specification underway. Our featured languages are:

  • Chinese
  • German
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Polish
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish

Watch this space for updates!

You can learn more about the translation process here: https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/openchain/spec-translations

Improved Update Cadence

To support adoption we have decided to increase certainty about OpenChain releases. Moving forward we have decided on a process of yearly reviews regarding adding sections or expanding existing sections of the Specification, Conformance and Curriculum. This predictable release cadence will allow companies to adopt OpenChain 1.1 with the certainty that it will remain current throughout 2017 and into 2018.

This does not mean the Specification, Conformance or Curriculum work team activities will slow down or stop. Quite the opposite. We will continue to refine and expand our material based on real-world feedback. We have plenty of work queued for consideration.

Please note that we will always be ready to provide an update to our materials on a faster cadence for any bugs or other issues discovered. You can conceptualize our new approach as having a yearly review cycle for adding new features to the Specification or supporting material and having a quicker release process for addressing bugs or errors.

Our Work Team Calls Evolve

Finally, the OpenChain work team calls are evolving to match our project development. From now on our call on the First Monday of the month will be a work team development call. Our call on the Third Monday will be an update call focused on ensuring everyone is in-sync regarding progress. You can get more information, including dial-in details, here:
https://www.openchainproject.org/community

What’s Next?

OpenChain’s community of contributors is continuing to grow. You can expect work to begin immediately on the next version of our Specification, Conformance service and Curriculum. However, our next major release is not scheduled for at least a year. This allows us time to carefully incorporate feedback from real-world use and to systematically improve readability, cohesion and translatability throughout all our material.

In the short term you can expect the release of new in-boarding material, great ways for adopters to advertise OpenChain Conformance, and new services to grow our community. Learn more in the next newsletter or on the OpenChain mailing list: https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/openchain

License and Trademarks

Copyright 2017 The Linux Foundation. This newsletter is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0). Please feel free to share it onwards! OpenChain is a trademark of The Linux Foundation. It may be used according to The Linux Foundation Trademark Policy and the OpenChain Terms of Use.

Download as a PDF
May 26
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OpenChain on IRC

By News

OpenChain on IRC

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, May 26, 2017 — The OpenChain Project now has an informal presence on FreeNode. Please note that this is not a formal method of obtaining information or help about OpenChain but it is a way to potentially connect with fellow project members. Kudos to Beth at Togán Labs for helping set us up.

You can join our IRC channel with three steps:

  1. Visit https://webchat.freenode.net
  2. Choose a nickname and enter #openchain as your channel
  3. Click connect

Want to join in our main community discussion? Join the OpenChain main mailing list.

About The OpenChain Project
The OpenChain Project is a community effort to establish best practices for effective management of open source software compliance. The project aims to help reduce costs, duplication of effort, and ease friction points in the software supply. The OpenChain Project has three Work Teams that collaborate on future refinements of the OpenChain Specification, to develop training materials and create conformance criteria for organizations.

Platinum Members of the OpenChain Project include Adobe, ARM Holdings, Cisco, GitHub, Harman International, HPE, Qualcomm, Siemens and Wind River.

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

# # #

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

May 25
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OpenChain Launches Onboarding Material Beta

By News

OpenChain Launches Onboarding Material Beta

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, May 25, 2017 — The OpenChain Project has launched new onboarding handouts and slides into public beta. This material is designed to help companies of all sizes understand and engage with our mission of making Open Source compliance simple, effective and efficient throughout the supply chain.

Everyone is welcome to contribute to the evolution of these documents to help ensure they provide the maximum utility for existing and future stakeholders in the Open Source eco-system.

The OpenChain Onboarding Document 1.0 Beta:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nJGAxzJggSvNtfUvWCWWKCXmR-rMTPOpj7cSYbhemGM/edit?usp=sharing

The OpenChain Onboarding Slides 1.0 Beta:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1PiCkx17RaByYbF2BkEOXQWfkp1SlLrY_HPcJV0NKzRE/edit?usp=sharing

Want to join in our discussion? Join the OpenChain main mailing list.

About The OpenChain Project
The OpenChain Project is a community effort to establish best practices for effective management of open source software compliance. The project aims to help reduce costs, duplication of effort, and ease friction points in the software supply. The OpenChain Project has three Work Teams that collaborate on future refinements of the OpenChain Specification, to develop training materials and create conformance criteria for organizations.

Platinum Members of the OpenChain Project include Adobe, ARM Holdings, Cisco, GitHub, Harman International, HPE, Qualcomm, Siemens and Wind River.

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

# # #

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

May 18
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OpenChain Specification 1.1 Deep Dive in Linux Weekly News

By News

OpenChain Specification 1.1 Deep Dive in Linux Weekly News

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, May 18, 2017 — The OpenChain Project was featured in an article entitled ‘Inside the OpenChain 1.1 specification’ in Linux Weekly News. This is a sister article to LWN’s coverage of the OpenChain Specification 1.1 release.

About The OpenChain Project
The OpenChain Project is a community effort to establish best practices for effective management of open source software compliance. The project aims to help reduce costs, duplication of effort, and ease friction points in the software supply. The OpenChain Project has three Work Teams that collaborate on future refinements of the OpenChain Specification, to develop training materials and create conformance criteria for organizations.

Platinum Members of the OpenChain Project include Adobe, ARM Holdings, Cisco, GitHub, Harman International, HPE, Qualcomm, Siemens and Wind River.

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

# # #

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

May 18
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OpenChain Featured in Linux Weekly News

By News

OpenChain Featured in Linux Weekly News

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, May 18, 2017 — The OpenChain Project was featured in an article entitled ‘License compliance in the open-source supply chain’ in Linux Weekly News. This is part of the media coverage of the OpenChain Specification 1.1 release. Jake Edge of LWN was at our launch speech at the Legal Network Legal and Licensing Workshop in Barcelona and provided detailed coverage.

About The OpenChain Project
The OpenChain Project is a community effort to establish best practices for effective management of open source software compliance. The project aims to help reduce costs, duplication of effort, and ease friction points in the software supply. The OpenChain Project has three Work Teams that collaborate on future refinements of the OpenChain Specification, to develop training materials and create conformance criteria for organizations.

Platinum Members of the OpenChain Project include Adobe, ARM Holdings, Cisco, GitHub, Harman International, HPE, Qualcomm, Siemens and Wind River.

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

# # #

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

May 15
Love0

OpenChain Launches Monthly Newsletter

By News

OpenChain Launches Monthly Newsletter

SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES– (May 15th 2017) –The OpenChain Project today announces the launch of a monthly newsletter to make it quicker and easier to stay up-to-date with developments.

“OpenChain has been terrifically busy over the last few months,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Program Manager. “We have launched a new industry standard for supply chain compliance, we have provided a free online conformance service to the market, and we have begun translations of core material into eight languages. The OpenChain newsletter is our way of making it simple to know precisely what is happening, on what timescale, and why it matters.”

The OpenChain newsletter can be accessed online or obtained in PDF format via the OpenChain website on the 15th of each month: https://www.openchainproject.org/newsletter

About The OpenChain Project
The OpenChain Project is a community effort to establish best practices for effective management of open source software compliance. The project aims to help reduce costs, duplication of effort, and ease friction points in the software supply. The OpenChain Project has three Work Teams that collaborate on future refinements of the OpenChain Specification, to develop training materials and create conformance criteria for organizations.

Platinum Members of the OpenChain Project include Adobe, ARM Holdings, Cisco, GitHub, Harman International, HPE, Qualcomm, Siemens and Wind River.

About The Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world’s top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and commercial adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux®is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

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