DASS: Enabling Comprehensive and Interactive Open Source Software License Compliance

由于软件受美国版权法保护，因此软件许可证是软件工程中重要的法律考虑因素。许可证定义了软件可以合法分发、修改和（重新）使用的条款。虽然某些软件许可证（称为开源许可证）允许其他工程师在未来的项目中大量使用该软件，但此类许可证仍然附带必须遵守的条件才能合法使用该软件。对于软件工程师来说，确定这些条件的性质和范围可能具有挑战性，因为他们通常没有接受过复杂的法律培训。在不遵守许可条款的情况下重复使用、改编或分发软件可能会导致重大的法律和经济后果。软件工程师需要更好地了解他们面临的许可问题及其影响，以及解决这些问题的指导，而法律从业者需要更好的支持来收集评估许可相关法律问题所需的信息。为了解决这些基本挑战，该项目将与软件工程师和法律专业人士进行一系列用户研究，以了解他们在解决与软件许可相关的问题时的需求和偏好。基于从研究中获得的知识，该项目旨在开发一个对话系统，使软件工程师能够以交互方式解决他们的许可需求和问题，与现有解决方案相比，更加高效和有效，从而防止软件许可不兼容。拟议的系统还将协助法律专业人士收集解决软件许可案件所需的技术和法律信息。该项目将制作和传播有关所获得知识的教育材料，以便通过互动/对话解决方案进一步提供法律信息和指导。这些材料旨在整合到计算和法律课程中。此外，该项目将侧重于招募和留住传统上代表性不足的类别的计算机科学和法律学生。 该项目以五个具体目标为中心。首先，它将为软件工程师创建许可需求、问题、例外和误解的全面分类。其次，它将确定在确定许可证兼容性时需要回答的主要法律问题以及回答这些问题所需的信息。第三，它将建立一个现有开源许可证的综合数据库，对许可条款及其关系进行编码，包括例外情况和其他条件，以及不同许可证之间的语言不兼容性。第四，它将引出交互式许可证合规性的设计要求和用户偏好。最后，它将设计、开发和评估一个交互式解决方案，该解决方案使用收集的数据与工程师互动，并提供许可证合规性指导，从而使未来与法律顾问的互动更加高效和有效。该项目旨在通过帮助开发人员和律师理解和解决其工作中出现的许可问题，提高软件在知识产权法和开源许可方面的责任，并为法律服务自动化和可访问性的研究发展做出贡献。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Because software is protected under U.S. copyright law, software licenses represent an important legal consideration in software engineering. A license defines the terms pursuant to which software can legally be distributed, modified, and (re)used. While certain software licenses, known as open-source licenses, allow considerable use of the software in future projects by other engineers, such licenses still come with conditions that must be complied with in order to use the software legally. Determining the nature and extent of those conditions can be challenging for software engineers, who are typically not trained in the intricacies of the law. Reusing, adapting, or distributing software without abiding by its license terms can lead to significant legal and economic consequences. Software engineers need a better understanding of the licensing issues that they face and their implications, as well as guidance to address these issues, and legal practitioners need better support in collecting the information necessary for assessing licensing-related legal issues. To address these fundamental challenges, this project will conduct a series of user studies with software engineers and legal professionals to understand their needs and preferences in solving issues related to software licensing. Based on the acquired knowledge from the studies, this project will aim to develop a conversational system that will allow software engineers to address their licensing needs and issues interactively, and more efficiently and effectively, compared to existing solutions, thus preventing software license incompatibilities. The proposed system will also assist legal professionals in collecting the technical and legal information they require for solving software licensing cases. The project will produce and disseminate educational materials on the acquired knowledge in order to further the provision of legal information and guidance through interactive/conversational solutions. These materials are intended to be integrated into computing and law curricula. In addition, the project will focus on recruiting and retaining computer science and law students from traditionally underrepresented categories. The project is centered on five specific goals. First, it will create comprehensive taxonomies of licensing needs, issues, exceptions, and misconceptions for software engineers. Second, it will determine the primary legal questions that need to be answered in determining license compatibility and the information required to answer those questions. Third, it will build a comprehensive database of existing open-source licenses that encodes licensing terms and their relationships, including exceptions and other conditions, and language incompatibilities across distinct licenses. Fourth, it will elicit design requirements and user preferences for interactive license compliance. Finally, it will design, develop, and evaluate an interactive solution that uses collected data to engage with engineers and provide guidance on license compliance in a way that will make future engagement with legal counsel more efficient and effective. This project aims to improve software accountability with respect to intellectual property law and open source licensing, by assisting developers and lawyers in understanding and addressing the licensing issues that arise in their work, and to contribute to the developing research on the automation and accessibility of legal services.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.