Open Source Initiative

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is a California-based public-benefit, 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting, educating and advocating for open-source software. It operates as a steward of the open-source movement, supporting community-building efforts, maintaining widely recognised standards and engaging in public advocacy to advance non-proprietary models of software development.
The OSI is managed by a professional staff led by an Executive Director and overseen by a Board of Directors responsible for strategic alignment, fiduciary oversight and ensuring adherence to the organisation’s mission.

Open Source Definition

The Open Source Definition (OSD) derives from the Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG), released in 1997 by Bruce Perens during his tenure as Debian Project Leader. Perens published the DFSG with the aspiration that other projects would adopt similar principles. In 1998, he adapted the DFSG into the OSD by replacing Debian-specific references with general open-source terminology.
The OSD was first announced on 9 February 1998 and subsequently appeared in the Linux Gazette. Alongside Eric S. Raymond, Perens co-founded the OSI to promote and safeguard the open-source model, although neither remains involved with the organisation today. While the OSD is widely referenced, developers using popular licences such as GPL, BSD, MIT or Apache do not require OSI approval in order for their work to be recognised as open source.

Licence Approval Process

The OSI reviews and approves licences that comply with the Open Source Definition. Applicants proposing new licences must submit:

• a written rationale for the licence,
• comparative analysis with existing approved licences, and
• any relevant legal commentary.

Proposals undergo at least 30 days of public discussion on OSI mailing lists before the board votes to approve or reject them. The process, while intended to be transparent, has occasionally generated controversy.
Seven licences receive particular OSI recommendation due to their widespread use or strong community support:

• Apache License 2.0
• BSD family of licences
• GNU General Public License (all versions)
• GNU Lesser General Public License (all versions)
• MIT License
• Mozilla Public License 2.0
• Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) and Eclipse Public License 2.0

Open Source AI Definition

In 2022 the OSI began developing an Open Source AI Definition (OSAID) to clarify how open-source principles apply to artificial intelligence. Researchers, developers and industry representatives participated in a co-design process, and a working draft (version 1.0) was published in October 2024. The draft sparked significant debate, highlighting tensions surrounding openness, transparency and governance in AI systems.

History

Open source as a formal campaign emerged in 1998 through the efforts of Christine Peterson, Jon “maddog” Hall, Larry Augustin, Eric S. Raymond, Bruce Perens and others. The group adopted the Debian-based OSD and founded the OSI as a steward organisation. Efforts to register “open source” as a trademark were unsuccessful, leaving the term in broad public use.
In 2008 the OSI Board invited 50 individuals to form a confidential Charter Members group to assist with governance reform. Communication took place via a private mailing list, and the full membership was never publicly disclosed.
In 2012, under OSI president Simon Phipps, the organisation began a shift towards a membership-based governance model. This included:

• an Affiliate Membership programme for non-profit, academic and industry associations,
• an Individual Membership programme, and
• expansion of corporate sponsorship.

Patrick Masson was appointed General Manager in 2013. From 2020 to 2021 Deb Nicholson served as interim General Manager, overseeing an election process that was temporarily halted due to detected vulnerabilities. The search for a permanent Executive Director concluded in September 2021 with the appointment of Stefano Maffulli, and the role of board president was replaced by that of board chair.

Controversy

The OSI has faced several governance and community disputes:

• In 2009, the organisation temporarily lost its corporate status due to late filing of required paperwork.
• In January 2020, co-founder Bruce Perens resigned over disagreements involving the proposed Cryptographic Autonomy License, warning that the proliferation of licences had become unmanageable.
• In March 2020, co-founder Eric S. Raymond was banned from OSI mailing lists after claiming that the organisation had strayed from its founding principles.
• The 2024 OSAID draft provoked renewed debate within the open-source community.
• In 2025, a petition called for the release of unaltered Board election results, arguing that post-vote removal of candidates and ballots had damaged the OSI’s credibility.

Related Concepts

• Commons-based peer production – collaborative, decentralised production without hierarchical leadership.
• Open-source governance – applying open-source principles to societal decision-making.
• Techno-progressivism – support for socially beneficial technological advancement.
• Open-source ideology – philosophical foundations and evolution of the open-source movement.
• Linked data – interconnection of structured datasets using open standards.