Commercialisation, licensing and open-sourcing of research software

Guidance for research staff and students on best practices for commercialising novel, unencumbered software, while also enabling open-sourcing, protecting intellectual property, and addressing software copyright.

Understanding open-source freedoms and licences

Open-source software offers freedoms to use, modify, and distribute software, governed by specific licences.

Understanding the commercial potential and the implications of different licences is crucial for individuals and organisations engaging with open-source projects.

Importance of including a licence with the release code

Copyright protection automatically applies to your software upon creation.

However, if you don't specify a licence, nobody knows how the copyright will be applied or enforced, and others (including developers) cannot freely copy, distribute, or modify your work.

Commercialisation of open-source software

  • The sale of open-source software is generally permitted if its licence permits distribution.
  • Consultancy, maintenance, or upgrade services can be offered in association with open-source software.
  • An open-source licence can be applied to a basic software version, while a commercial license can be applied to a more advanced software version – known as the 'open core' model.
  • Software can be offered as a service instead of being sold – known as 'Software as a Service (SaaS)'.

Understanding common open-source licences

MIT licences

MIT licences are considered very permissive, meaning they place few restrictions on how the software can be used. These types of licences:

  • Allow incorporation into proprietary software, together with the terms and copyright notice
  • Require attribution to the original authors
  • Typically include a warranty waiver to provide the software “as is”

Learn more about MIT licenses at Open Source | MIT Licence.

GNU General Public Licence (GPL)

GPL licences are considered more restrictive. These types of licences:

  • Require any derived work to remain open source under the same or equivalent terms, and are therefore incompatible with proprietary software, known as the Copyleft principle
  • Often commercialised in the forms of "software as a service" or "maintenance and support".

Learn more about the GLP licences at GNU | GNU General Public Licence.

Apache licence

An Apache licence is considered very permissive. These types of licences:

  • Allow any derivative work to assume a different licence, even a proprietary one
  • Require the original Apache licence notice, any intellectual property information (copyright, patent and trademark), and any attribution information to be preserved
  • Automatically terminate for any users who enforce their derived patents against you or other users, known as the 'patent retaliation clause'

Learn more about Apache licences at Apache | Apache Licence, Version 2.0

Creative Commons licences

Generally not appropriate for software, with the exception of the version “CC0” specifically used to place otherwise copyrighted work into the public domain without any conditions or attributions.

Learn more about Creative Commons licences: Creative Commons | About CC Licences

University recommendations

If the aim is to be compatible with open source while restricting commercial use, we recommend dual licensing. 

This is where software is released under an open-source licence (we recommend Apache 2.0) for research, but commercial users must obtain a separate paid licence. This can enable industry collaboration and/or external research funding.

We also recommend that any text within the software include notes on dual licensing and a definition of what non-commercial means.

Recommended text for dual licence notice

This software is dual-licensed:

1. Open Source License (Apache License 2.0)
You may use, modify, and distribute this software under the terms of the Apache License 2.0, for non-commercial purposes such as research, education, or internal experimentation.

2. Commercial License
For any commercial use — including use in products, services, or production systems — you must obtain a commercial license from the copyright holder.

To inquire about commercial licensing, please contact:
University of Auckland
ip@auckland.ac.nz

What qualifies as non-commercial use?

Allowed under the Apache license in this dual-licensing model:

  • Academic research
  • Educational use
  • Personal or hobby projects
  • Internal testing or proof-of-concept (non-production)

Not allowed without a commercial license:

  • Use in a commercial product or SaaS offering
  • Internal use by a company in production systems
  • Consulting or freelancing deliverables
  • Integrating into paid services or apps

For any commercial use, please contact:
University of Auckland
ip@auckland.ac.nz

Contact

If you have questions or your funder requires a licence that differs from those we recommend, email ip@auckland.ac.nz.

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