Question 1

I maintain a popular library in my spare time. Does the CRA apply to me?

Accepted Answer

Not if you do not monetise it. Downloads, regular releases and corporate users do not by themselves make it commercial (CRA Recital 18; Guidance ¶87).

Question 2

I have a GitHub Sponsors or Open Collective link. Is that monetising?

Accepted Answer

Voluntary donations are, in the Commission's reading, unlikely to amount to placing on the market, even above costs. It changes if access, essential features or updates depend on donating (Guidance ¶61–62).

Question 3

My company publishes open-source libraries we also use in our paid product. What are we?

Accepted Answer

Usually the steward of the libraries, if you support them on a sustained basis and do not monetise them, and the manufacturer of the paid product (Guidance ¶67–68, Examples 25–26).

Question 4

Is a not-for-profit foundation a manufacturer?

Accepted Answer

Not when it is set up so that all earnings after costs serve not-for-profit objectives; its FOSS is then not placed on the market, and it may be a steward (CRA Recital 18; Guidance ¶66, 77–78).

Question 5

Does an open-core model make the free version subject to the CRA?

Accepted Answer

The paid version is placed on the market; the free version is not. If the publisher is a legal person, it is a steward for the free version (Guidance ¶52–53).

Question 6

What if a steward starts selling the project?

Accepted Answer

It becomes the manufacturer from the date it places the product on the market, not for earlier versions it supported as steward (Guidance ¶84).