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Yes. If it's available to the public and it has a non-government use, it is commercial. Period. It's not just "now", that is how the US law is written, and it's
by dwheeler 4y ago
Yes. If it's available to the public and it has a non-government use, it is commercial. Period. It's not just "now", that is how the US law is written, and it's been that way for a long time.
There are two types of commercial software: Open Source Software and Closed Source Software.
This is intentional. The US government wants to be able to use software that is available in the commercial (non-government) world.
For more info, see my paper "Open Source Software is Commercial":
https://csiac.org/articles/open-source-software-is-commercial/ https://csiac.org/articles/open-source-software-is-commercia...
- mch82 4y agoThank you for sharing this excellent article and the work you described in another comment to help create the FAQ.