A well-known obligation in some FOSS licenses is the requirement to provide "complete corresponding source code" (CCSC). After the initial collection and packaging of the CCSC, its provision imposes a burden that may persist for a very long time. Ensuring that the CCSC is always available is not a simple matter, especially considering that the original development team might change structure, people might be replaced or change roles, legal entities may disappear, etc.
In this talk we will present the possibility of using Software Heritage, an independent, non-profit third party, in order to outsource CCSC provision. As part of the exploration, we will review the legal obligations in popular copyleft licenses, explain the burden of long-term CCSC hosting, describe the hosting infrastructure in place, and propose a publishing workflow that might help FOSS producers painlessly comply with the licenses.
Speakers: Stefano Zacchiroli Alexios Zavras