Using Linux in your medical device has plenty of advantages. A successful migration to embedded Linux can bring numerous advantages to an organization, including reduced licensing costs and greater control over features and maintainability. However, not all Linux distributions are created equal. Using open source vs. commercial Linux can be two vastly different experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Protecting Your Proprietary IP from Open Source <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s always a good idea to consult with your legal team when considering a move to open-source software (OSS). Your legal team might be surprised to learn that not everything you’re planning to build is going to be your company\u2019s IP. There are different classifications of open-source licenses\u2013permissive and restrictive. Restrictive licenses require that when you make changes or enhancements to something that’s licensed under one of these agreements you are required to share these changes with the open-source community. Each license is different so you and your legal team will be interested in what they required. While it\u2019s possible that certain licenses might be more restrictive than you\u2019ll be comfortable with, the Linux kernel and major open-source packages such as OpenSSL and TensorFlow have licenses that allow you to use this software without requiring you to disclose your proprietary IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Supporting your Linux OS for the full life cycle of the product. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you customize your Linux distribution, you will also need to maintain it for the life of your product. If you’re going to do this yourself, businesses typically discover that using open source tools that are freely available are in practice not truly free. Maintaining Linux involves managing millions of lines of code, development tools, toolchains, and more, which will require staffing a dedicated team (with its associated costs) whose responsibility is to manage all this “free” technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n