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Open Source License Compliance That Doesn't Slow Down Development

Reduce regulatory risk by integrating open source license compliance tools into your development workflows to catch violations early and prevent non-compliance penalties.

Full view of Sonatype solutions across the software development lifecycle

 

Keep Auditors and Developers Happy

Sonatype simplifies open source license compliance by automatically identifying and managing license obligations across your software supply chain. This ensures legal compliance, strengthens your ability to investigate and respond to security incidents, and protects your organization from fines, reputational damage, and audit penalties — all without impacting developer productivity.

Explore Sonatype Open Source License Compliance Tools

View of all legal obligations through Sonatype's Advanced Legal Pack.
Sonatype Lifecycle's view of versioning with rich insights and graphs.
SBOM Manager's dashboard into components, vulnerabilities, and policy violations.

Turn Compliance Into a Competitive Advantage

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Faster assessment of open source license risks
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Reduced exposure to legal risks
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reduced remediation time for license compliance
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The Benefits of Reliable Open Source Compliance Management

Comprehensive License Visibility

Identify all components and their open source license obligations across your codebase. 

Automated Policy Enforcement

Mitigate legal risks by defining custom license policies and enforcing them automatically across the SDLC. 

Open Source Risk Reduction

Analyze open source license risks with and resolve obligations using reusable legal workflows.

Streamlined Legal Workflows

Automatically collect, and report attribution data to comply with open source license obligations.

Why Our Customers Trust Sonatype

“It was not easy to find a solution that covered all of our complex legal and security requirements. After evaluating a dozen different tools, we chose Sonatype Lifecycle for its completeness of pulling copyright and licensing information, data accuracy, and quick identification of legal, security, and technical findings.”

Rocco De Angelis

Director at ARIS R&D

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“Sonatype provided the tools and support we needed to streamline due diligence, reduce risk, and move forward with confidence.”

John Goodson

Senior VP of Products

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“The biggest advantage of using Sonatype Lifecycle is to be able to report to our project team what specific libraries are used within our applications. We have immediate visibility into security issues.”

Olivier Routier

Head of CI DevOps Engineering

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Explore License Compliance Insights

View all Resources
Whitepaper

SCA Best Practices Guide

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Whitepaper

Securing Your Software Supply Chain: A Boardroom and C-Suite Imperative

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Blog Post

Manage Open Source Licenses in Financial Services

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is open source license compliance and management? 

Open source license compliance and obligation management is the process of identifying, tracking, and adhering to the legal requirements of open source software used in your codebase. It ensures that organizations respect license obligations, such as attribution, distribution, or usage limits, while avoiding legal, security, or operational risks. Effective open source license compliance tools automate this process, ensuring compliance and giving teams visibility and control over open source usage throughout the software development lifecycle.   

Are there different types of open source licenses? 

Yes, there are many types of open source licenses, each with different obligations. Some are permissive, requiring minimal attribution, while others are restrictive and may require sharing modifications or entire source code. Sonatype helps identify, classify, and enforce license policies so you stay compliant without slowing development.

What are the consequences of not having open source compliance management in place?

Without proper open source compliance management, organizations risk legal action, forced product changes, release delays, and reputational damage. Non-compliance can also result in loss of IP rights. Sonatype enables proactive management by identifying license issues early, ensuring you avoid costly disruptions and stay in control of your legal obligations.

If licenses are free to use, are there still open source license obligations?

Yes. Free doesn’t mean obligation-free. Many open source licenses require attribution, notice inclusion, or sharing of modifications. Ignoring these terms can trigger legal consequences. Sonatype automates license detection and enforces your organization’s policies, so your teams can use open source confidently and responsibly.

How can I use open source software without violating license terms?

To use open source responsibly, you must identify license types, understand their terms, and follow required obligations — like attribution or source code disclosure. Sonatype automates this process, flagging risky components and guiding developers to compliant, policy-approved choices before code ever reaches production.

Why should companies care about open source software license compliance? 

Open source is the backbone of modern development, but unmanaged license use can lead to legal, financial, and reputational risk. Compliance is essential for protecting IP, maintaining customer trust, and avoiding disruption. Sonatype ensures your teams use open source safely, with full visibility and control across the software supply chain.

Address Compliance at Scale

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