The big issue in the trial of Sergey Aleynikov, the former Goldman Sachs programmer who has been accused of stealing proprietary code, is open source code. Aleynikov says he didn't intend to steal proprietary code but rather the open source code, and Goldman Sachs executives have admitted that there could be at least a modicum of open source code included as part of Goldman's high-frequency trading programs.

The defense is making much of open source code licenses, many of which require any improvements to the code base be made public to further the development of the product. Lawyers for Aleynikov have thus suggested that Goldman perhaps needs to make some of their code public to satisfy the licenses. A commentator in Information Management thinks this ought to be a wake-up call for all companies.

"Whether Aleynikov's defense prevails, this case presents an unmistakable and imperative lesson for companies that derive appreciable revenue from computer programs. Such companies should immediately assemble key personnel from management, business, information technology and inside and outside counsel with one agenda item: identify the top five most productive computer-based, proprietary assets and determine whether any of these assets have open source code embedded in their digital architecture," notes Information Management.

"If the answer is yes, then the company needs to identify the different types of open source code that are involved, analyze the licensing requirements associated with each such code, assess the use and application of the code, and determine the exposure based on these factors."

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