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OSI and AboutCode partner to sustain ClearlyDefined

· One min read
Philippe Ombredanne
Philippe Ombredanne
AboutCode Lead Maintainer

The Open Source Initiative (OSI) and AboutCode have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to put ClearlyDefined on a sustainable path. ClearlyDefined is a community-run database project of license, copyright, and package metadata for open source components, and it has been a widely cited reference for software composition analysis since 2017. It makes heavy usage of ScanCode.

Under the MoU, OSI continues as the project's organizational steward while AboutCode takes on responsibility for the technical foundations: the data pipeline, the curation workflow, and integration with the broader AboutCode toolchain (ScanCode, PurlDB, VulnerableCode). The goal is to keep ClearlyDefined data current, improve its accuracy, and grow contributor participation.

For ClearlyDefined users there is no changes, just continuity: the data and APIs remain available and open, and the curation process stays open. For the AboutCode community it means a new project to maintain and support and a clearer path for license data to flow between ClearlyDefined and the rest of AboutCode.

Background on the agreement is in the OSI announcement and the signed Memorandum of Understanding.