A look into Microsoft’s proposed policy to ban commercial open-source apps

Microsoft modified the conditions of the Microsoft Store back in June. The business said that it will stop marketing open source software under the new regulations. Microsoft stated the modification will take effect on July 16. Microsoft is changing its mind only a few days before the anticipated policy modification.

The company has since announced that it would continue to market open source software.

Microsoft has provided clarity about their ban on the selling of open-source software. The firm stated that it will not prohibit commercial open-source software from being downloaded via the Microsoft Store, at least for the time being.

When the tech giant revised the conditions of its Microsoft Store last month, it caused quite a commotion. The new regulations, which would allegedly take effect on July 16, seemed to ban the marketing and distribution of for-profit open source software. The new policy's Section 10.8.7 states:

”Not attempt to profit from open-source or other software that is otherwise generally available for free, nor be priced irrationally high relative to the features and functionality provided by your product.”

After announcing changes to the way developers would be able to commercialize open source software, Microsoft has generated some anxiety in the open source community.

This is bad news for developers who have listed commercial open-source apps on the Microsoft App Store. Free and Open-Source Software, sometimes known as FOSS, isn't necessarily free to download and use, despite what the name would imply.

For instance, OSS and Linux are sometimes assumed to be 100 percent free. However, there are many of business initiatives that provide a lot of value. There are no limitations on a developer charging for an open-source program even though it is built on FOSS.

Many instances of open source software, including video editing programs like Shotcut and FTP clients like WinSCP, are available in Microsoft's app store as fully functional commercial products. But it appears like Microsoft is making efforts to put systems in place to stop such imitations from profiting off the efforts of the open source community, considering how simple it is for anybody to redesign and rebrand open source software as a new independent product.

In essence, Microsoft appears to be prohibiting anyone from getting paid for their efforts, even project owners and maintenance personnel. Some developers have criticized the move and  have remarked that developers and programmers may be discouraged from making their apps accessible under an open source license. Others have claimed that there may be repercussions for proprietary systems that use open source components with specific licensing.

Following the announcement, prominent members of the open source community have voiced their opinions, including Hayden Barnes, a senior engineering manager at open source software company Suse. Barnes tweeted saying that he was "disappointed" with the suggested policy change since it would inhibit open source developers from producing more viable projects given their current lack of funding.

The language used in Microsoft's policy modification was the main point of contention for the majority of developers. Although the statement virtually put aside all open source projects, it is plausible to conclude that the intention was to safeguard open source project maintainers and IP owners, according to TechCrunch.  The primary "official" version of an open source software will therefore be able to continue being monetized in the future, whereas other versions won't be allowed to do so.

For precisely this reason, Halla Rempt, the primary developer of the well-known open source digital painting app Krita, doesn't appear unduly concerned about these impending changes.

“I’m still not 100% of the implications of the change — it seems to me that they’re actually happy with projects putting their own software in the store, but whether they’re still okay with us charging for it, I don’t know,” Rempt said. “For now, we’re continuing as is.”

‘A reversal’

Microsoft appears to have noticed and, at least temporarily, changed its mind. Giorgio Sardo, the general manager of Microsoft's apps, partners, and store, claims that the corporation had no intention of ceasing to sell open source software (OSS) there. Instead, the intention was to reduce false listings.

“We have determined it could be perceived differently than intended, so we are revising this policy change to provide greater clarity,” Microsoft said in a release.