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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.

你好!The OpenChain Specification is in Chinese

By News

你好!The OpenChain Specification is in Chinese

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, October 11, 2017 — The OpenChain Project is delighted to announce that official translations of the OpenChain Specification in Simplified and Traditional Chinese are now available.

“The OpenChain Project is keen to engage the broadest possible audience and adoption,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Project Director. “Today our goal of being an accessible and understandable approach to managing open source compliance in the supply chain is one step closer. The value of translations in Simplified and Traditional Chinese is immense and on behalf of the entire project I want to thank our dedicated volunteers for creating this material.”

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.

Organizations of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to complete our free Online Self-Certification Questionnaire, and to join our community of trust.

Additional Resources

OpenChain Project Announces Open Session at Open Source Summit Europe

By News

OpenChain Project Announces Open Session at Open Source Summit Europe

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, October 10, 2017 — The OpenChain Project will hold an Open Session at Open Source Summit Europe in Prague from 2pm to 4pm on Tuesday the 24th of October. This event will take place in the Roma room and is open to all interested parties. It will be an interactive session to discuss the OpenChain Specification, Conformance, Curriculum and Onboarding. Participants are asked to RSVP the Project Director to confirm their attendance.

“The OpenChain Project is always seeking new voices and new perspectives,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Project Director. “As we move towards 2018 and broader adoption of the OpenChain Specification we are explicitly seeking engagement from a all interested parties. The Open Session at Open Source Summit Europe provides a significant opportunity to meet the Work Team leads face-to-face and share ideas.”

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.

Organizations of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to complete our free Online Self-Certification Questionnaire, and to join our community of trust.

Additional Resources

OpenChain Project Announces Two Talks At Open Source Summit Europe

By News

OpenChain Project Announces Two Talks At Open Source Summit Europe

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, October 5, 2017 — The OpenChain Project will be featured in two talks at the Open Source Summit Europe conference held between the 23rd and 26th of October in Prague. Both of these talks will be held on Monday the 23rd of October and will feature Shane Coughlan, the OpenChain Project Director.

“The OpenChain Project is a central part of the dialogue around open source compliance,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Project Director. “Our focus is on addressing the key requirements for quality compliance programs in the supply chain. To accomplish this we provide a specification outlining what those key requirements are as well as supporting online self-certification and a comprehensive set of reference curriculum materials. We are looking forward to sharing our knowledge and experience more widely at one of the most vibrant events in Europe.”

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.

Organizations of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to complete our free Online Self-Certification Questionnaire, and to join our community of trust.

Additional Resources

Bonjour! The OpenChain Specification Is In French

By News

Bonjour! The OpenChain Specification Is In French

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, October 4, 2017 — The OpenChain Project is delighted to announce that the OpenChain Specification version 1.1 now has an official French translation. This translation was lead by Camille Moulin (Innoc3) with support from Benjamin Jean (Innoc3) and Bruno Grasset (Elektrobit France).

“The OpenChain Project has a wide and growing list of translations,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Project Director. “The addition of an official French translation of the OpenChain Specification is another milestone in broadening the accessibility of our project and our pool of potential conformant organizations.”

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.

Organizations of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to complete our free Online Self-Certification Questionnaire, and to join our community of trust.

Additional Resources

OpenChain Project Sponsors Open Compliance Summit in Yokohama

By News

OpenChain Project Sponsors Open Compliance Summit in Yokohama

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, October 3, 2017 — The OpenChain Project is proud to sponsor the Open Compliance Summit scheduled for November 16th and 17th in Yokohama, Japan. The Open Compliance Summit is an exclusive 2-day event for Linux Foundation members and select invitees. The summit provides a neutral environment for participants from different companies and different backgrounds to:

  • Discuss and exchange compliance best practices (processes, policies, guidelines, tools, open source governance, etc.)
  • Increase awareness on implementing and managing a compliance program, and managing compliance via your supply chain
  • Discuss common compliance challenges and how to address them
  • Increase involvement of participants in The Linux Foundation Open Compliance Program (tools, templates, SPDX, etc.)

“The Open Compliance Summit has grown from humble beginnings into one of the key compliance and governance events in our field,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Project Director. “The OpenChain Project is delighted to both participate in and sponsor this event. Our goal is to help expand and share knowledge around open source compliance for every stakeholder 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.

Organizations of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to complete our free Online Self-Certification Questionnaire, and to join our community of trust.

Additional Resources

Commons Conservancy Contributes Material To The OpenChain Project

By News

Commons Conservancy Contributes Material To The OpenChain Project

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, September 28, 2017 — The Commons Conservancy has contributed a guide to including license information in software source files to the OpenChain Project. This guide, as with all material contributed to the OpenChain Project, is licensed under CC-0.

“This contribution from the Commons Conservancy builds on previous material provided to the OpenChain Project,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Project Director. “It will find a natural home in our expanded curriculum material and supports the sharing of best practices for both manual and automated review. We are immensely grateful to Michiel and the rest of the team at Commons Conservancy for creating excellent knowledge resources and sharing them with a global audience through the OpenChain Project.”

“Licensing and copyright notices in software are typically handled in very much the same way as in the age of Koster and Gutenberg. For all parties that need to deal with them they involve tedious, manual labour – repetitively checking the same data over and over again. This is not only inefficient, but makes it easy to make mistakes,” says Michiel Leenaars, Chairman of the Commons Conservancy. “It is long overdue to automate this antiquated aspect of modern software development. And ironically, keeping stock of this type of information is what computers were created for in the first place. Establishing best practices that show how to do this efficiently, without adding unnecessary complexity, is important for the industry. As the Commons Conservancy we have been gathering and promoting best practices for our projects because we care about the long term manageability of the whole system. We are happy to see Openchain committed to bringing together industry best practices from across the field, and to contribute our work to this initiative.”

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.

Organizations of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to complete our free Online Self-Certification Questionnaire, and to join our community of trust.

Additional Resources

OpenChain Newsletter #5

By Monthly Newsletter

tl;dr

We have welcomed two major new Platinum Members. We have improved our quick-start/onboarding material. We have featured in several events. We have continued to expand our translations. We have been featured in a podcast and an academic article for the first time.

OpenChain Platinum Members

We are proud to welcome Toyota and Hitachi as our 11th and 12th Platinum Members respectively. Our partnership with two of Japan’s largest companies will help accelerate the growth of the OpenChain Project and adoption of our specification.

Learn more about Toyota’s participation here:
https://www.openchainproject.org/news/2017/08/31/openchain-project-welcomes-toyota

Learn more about Hitachi’s participation here:
https://www.openchainproject.org/news/2017/09/11/openchain-project-welcomes-hitachi

OpenChain Becomes Easier To Explain

We have launched a new infographic to explain OpenChain in five sentences as part of our expanded onboarding material.  

Learn more here:
https://www.openchainproject.org/news/2017/09/13/openchain-project-launches-quick-start-infographic

OpenChain @ Events

The OpenChain Curriculum took center-stage at Open Source Summit North America. Learn more here:
https://www.openchainproject.org/news/2017/09/11/openchain-curriculum-takes-center-stage-at-ossummit

The OpenChain Project was also featured in an adjacent closed-door event entitled the Open Source Entrepreneur Symposium. Learn more here:
https://osen17.eventbrite.com

Keep track of all our events here:
https://www.openchainproject.org/events

New Material Contributions

We have received public domain contributions of reference of a company onboarding guide and open source licensing material material from Moorcrofts and FSFE respectively.

OpenChain Internationalization

OpenChain has received an official German translation of the OpenChain Specification.

Learn more here:
https://www.openchainproject.org/news/2017/08/24/hallo-openchain-is-in-german

Keep track of all our translations here:
https://www.openchainproject.org/translations

OpenChain Elsewhere

OpenChain has featured in the Open Source Entrepreneur Network podcast and been featured in an academic article for the first time during this month.

Learn more about the podcast here:
https://www.openchainproject.org/news/2017/09/12/openchain-featured-in-osen-podcast

Learn more about the academic article here:
https://www.openchainproject.org/news/2017/09/07/openchain-referenced-in-academic-article

What’s Next?

In the next month OpenChain will continue to build out quick-start/onboarding material and 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. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Download as a PDF

OSADL Announces Material Contribution To The OpenChain Project

By News

OSADL Announces Material Contribution To The OpenChain Project

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, September 26, 2017 — The OpenChain Project today announces a commitment from the Open Source Automation Development Lab to provide reference license requirement checklists to the OpenChain Curriculum. The full project description is available today from the OSADL website. This material, as with all material contributed to the OpenChain Project, is licensed under CC-0.

“OSADL’s work to create reference license requirement checklists offers an intriguing opportunity to support increased automation when dealing with inbound or outbound software,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Project Director. “The contribution of this material to the OpenChain Curriculum provides us with an interesting platform not only to educate and inform, but also to collaborate with sister projects such as SPDX and FOSSology in the development and dissemination of improved approaches to open source license management.”

“The project to create trusted checklists of open source license obligations has created quite some enthusiasm long before it was launched, and it looks like contributors are waiting in the wings,” says Dr. Carsten Emde, General Manager of Open Source Automation Development Lab (OSADL) eG. “We here at OSADL are looking forward to hosting a great project the results of which will be contributed to the OpenChain initiative and subsequently embark on a successful journey around 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.

Organizations of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to complete our free Online Self-Certification Questionnaire, and to join our community of trust.

Additional Resources

OpenChain Releases Unofficial Polish Translation

By News

OpenChain Releases Unofficial Polish Translation

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, September 22, 2017 — The OpenChain Project today announces the release of an unofficial Polish translation of the OpenChain Specification 1.1.

“Unofficial OpenChain Specification translations are created by a single volunteer and form the foundation of later official releases,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Program Manager. “We have received this kind donation from Rafał Malujda of Rafal Malujda Law Office, and from this point forward we are putting out a call to help us formalize the translation and add it to our official list.”

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.

Organizations of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to complete our free Online Self-Certification Questionnaire, and to join our community of trust.

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.

OpenChain Announces Project Director

By News

OpenChain Announces Project Director

SAN FRANCISCO, United States, September 21, 2017 — The OpenChain Project is delighted to announce that from today Shane Coughlan will act as Project Director from the project. This is an expansion of his role from Project Manager and reflects the growing community and momentum around the OpenChain Project.

“It has been my pleasure and honor to help OpenChain scale over the last six months,” says Shane Coughlan, OpenChain Project Director. “We have taken substantial steps towards making the project more accessible and useful for our target market. Now, with our expanded board and growing community of contributors, we will seek to further enhance open source compliance across 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.

Organizations of all sizes are invited to review the OpenChain Project, to complete our free Online Self-Certification Questionnaire, and to join our community of trust.

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.