“Free software” means software that respects users' freedom and community. Roughly, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software.
Free software is not the same as open source, but the two concepts are related. In the specific area of research, we always recommend making (self-) created software available and publishing it under a free licence. This simplifies the subsequent use of your software. If you are looking for a software product, we recommend that you check whether there is a suitable free software or open source product on the market. When choosing a suitable licence, there are many different licences on the market and we can therefore not recommend a licence for all use cases. Please contact us in individual cases, we will be happy to advise you on a suitable licence and also help you find a suitable place to store and publish your software. We will also be happy to advise you on legal questions regarding the use, application and publication of software in research.