Open Source Software (OSS) is widely used and carries licenses that indicate the terms under which the software is provided for use, also specifying modification and distribution rules. Ensuring that users are respecting OSS license terms when creating derivative works is a complex process. Compliance issues arising from incompatibilities among licenses may lead to legal disputes. At the same time, the blockchain technology with immutable entries offers a mechanism to provide transparency when it comes to licensing and ensure software changes are recorded. In this work, we are introducing an integration of blockchain and license management when creating derivative works, in order to tackle the issue of OSS license compatibility. We have designed, implemented and performed a preliminary evaluation of FOSS-chain, a web platform that uses blockchain and automates the license compliance process, covering 14 OSS licenses. We have evaluated the initial prototype version of the FOSS-chain platform via a small scale user study. Our preliminary results are promising, demonstrating the potential of the platform for adaptation on realistic software systems.

翻译：开源软件（OSS）被广泛使用，其附带的许可证规定了软件的使用条款，并明确了修改与分发规则。在创建衍生作品时，确保用户遵守开源软件许可证条款是一个复杂的过程。许可证之间的不兼容性所引发的合规问题可能导致法律纠纷。与此同时，具有不可篡改记录特性的区块链技术为许可证管理提供了透明化机制，并能确保软件变更被完整记录。本研究针对开源软件许可证兼容性问题，提出了一种在创建衍生作品时整合区块链与许可证管理的方案。我们设计、实现并对FOSS-chain进行了初步评估——这是一个利用区块链自动化处理许可证合规流程的Web平台，涵盖14种开源软件许可证。我们通过小规模用户研究评估了FOSS-chain平台的初始原型版本。初步结果显示出良好前景，证明了该平台在实际软件系统中具备应用潜力。