A Dual Model of Open Source License Growth
This addresses the problem of selecting optimal licenses for open source project growth, which is incremental as it builds on existing data analysis.
The paper analyzed license choices and project growth over ten years in open source projects, finding a reversal from restrictive to permissive licenses around 2001.
Every open source project needs to decide on an open source license. This decision is of high economic relevance: Just which license is the best one to help the project grow and attract a community? The most common question is: Should the project choose a restrictive (reciprocal) license or a more permissive one? As an important step towards answering this question, this paper analyses actual license choice and correlated project growth from ten years of open source projects. It provides closed analytical models and finds that around 2001 a reversal in license choice occurred from restrictive towards permissive licenses.