Nowadays distributing software has become quite easy. Many platforms allow an easy access to software and documentations. Some examples are: github, bitbucket, gitlab, sourceforge, Google drive, Dropbox, etc. Before sharing the code any researcher shall verify that the software license is correctly included in the software documentation for compiled code or in the right repository for source code.
Software distributed under open source licences or compiled programs for general use (private or commercial) can be easily distributed via laboratory website or any of the platforms conceived for such purpose.
In the case of academic distribution TTO recommends the following approaches.
- Limited distribution: In case software will be distributed to a few numbers of institutions license should be sent to each academic partner for signature before sharing the code.
- Multiple academic institutions: For software distributed to multiple academic institutions in parallel we recommend asking for formal request via mail or an input form specifying the full coordinates and all the details related to the research project.
The software with the license terms shall be sent to the academic institution in a separate mail or by sharing a temporary link for download.
In the case of commercial distribution TTO recommends to share code only on physical supports or via access restricted servers.
Please contact the TTO for any further question on this subject.
Contact
EPFL Innovation Park J
CH-1015 Lausanne
Switzerland
Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +41 21 693 70 23