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# Open Source Software Licenses - A short Guide for Software Developers


- **Date:** Thursday, Jul 9, 2026
- **Time:** 10:10–10:40 (30 min)
- **Room:** Airstream 1
- **Event:** World Congress 2026 Europe

## Description

Open-source software has long been an integral part of everyday development. Unfortunately, the issue of complying with licensing terms is often dismissed too quickly or not addressed at all, as it is ‘just free software/library from the internet.’ This attitude can quickly become fatal for a company if a non-compliant usage is being detected and the company is being sued. However, dealing with licensing compliance is usually less complex than one might think. In this session, there will be a brief introduction to the topic of open source, the different types of licenses, and why developers should occasionally engage with this topic. Finally, we will have a look at some typical pitfalls in the daily work of a software developer.

## Speaker

### [Björn Stahl](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@bjorn-stahl)

Software Architect at Bechtle / AVS


## Related talks at this congress

- [Keeping Your AI Software Supply Chains Sovereign in the Age of Commercial Open Source](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1139-keeping-your-ai) — Franz Kiraly
- [My Lawyer Merged My PR: Automating OSS Compliance at Scale](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1193-my-lawyer-merged-my) — Uwe Korn
- [Vendor Neutral by Design: Building Healthy Open Source Ecosystems with Diverse Stakeholders](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1018-vendor-neutral-by) — Hendrik Ebbers
- [Open Source Is Not Just Code: Designing Communities That Actually Scale](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/world-congress-2026-europe/sessions/1220-open-source-is-not) — Sinduri Guntupalli