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Yes, competitors can collaborate on open source software, but an open source purpose does not suspend competition law or give participants permission to coordinate commercial decisions. Keep project discussions focused on technical work and governance, avoid competitively sensitive business topics, follow the policy that applies to the project, and get legal advice when a question depends on the facts.
What antitrust compliance means for an open source project
Open source projects often bring together employees from several companies, including companies that compete with one another. The Linux Foundation’s LFC105 course describes that as a practical context for learning how competition laws apply to project work. The key distinction is between collaborating on shared technical work and coordinating how participants compete commercially.
Open source status, public meetings, and a public-interest purpose do not by themselves make conduct lawful. At the same time, the fact that competitors contribute to the same codebase does not make their technical collaboration unlawful. The outcome depends on the jurisdiction, market context, participants, and conduct.
A foundation’s antitrust policy is a practical conduct rule for the activities it governs; it is not a court’s legal determination of whether a particular project or discussion complies with competition law. The Linux Foundation’s U.S. policy says its guidance applies to members and non-member participants in Foundation activities, and directs participants with questions to their own counsel. That policy page says it was amended by the Board on October 27, 2007, so check the policy that actually governs the project rather than assuming every foundation uses the same or a current version.
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What competitors should not discuss in project meetings
Use project time for requirements, code, interoperability, security, implementation choices, and project governance. Do not use it to coordinate commercial behavior or exchange confidential business information through a technical discussion.
The Linux Foundation’s U.S. policy identifies prices, bids, individual product plans, supplier or customer conduct, and individual company costs as prohibited meeting topics. Linux Foundation Europe’s policy lists additional sensitive subjects, including supply, production, capacity, inventory, market shares, and confidential business strategy. The policy governing the actual project and meeting determines the applicable rules.
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- Pricing and bids: Do not coordinate prices, discounts, margins, or bids, or discuss individual company cost information.
- Customers and suppliers: Do not coordinate whether, how, or on what terms a company will deal with a customer or supplier.
- Product and operating plans: Avoid discussion of individual product plans and, where covered by the applicable policy, supply, production, capacity, inventory, and launch plans.
- Market position and strategy: Do not exchange market-share information or confidential business strategy where the project policy prohibits it.
These are examples from foundation policies, not a complete legal test. A topic not named in a policy is not automatically safe, and a technical label does not make a commercial discussion acceptable.
How to run meetings and document project work
Before the meeting
- Identify the antitrust policy and project charter that apply to the meeting.
- Distribute an agenda limited to the technical or governance decisions the group needs to make.
- Remind participants to follow the applicable policy and keep commercial decisions with their own organizations.
During the meeting
- Keep discussion tied to the agenda and to technical requirements, code, interoperability, security, or project governance.
- If someone raises a competitively sensitive business topic, stop the discussion and state clearly that it is outside the project’s permitted scope.
- If the discussion continues, follow the applicable policy’s escalation procedure. Linux Foundation Europe’s policy tells participants to protest and leave if apparently prohibited discussion continues, and to seek to have the protest recorded.
- Refer specific legal questions to each participant’s own counsel. The Linux Foundation’s U.S. policy also identifies contacting the Foundation’s General Counsel about a proposed course of action.
After the meeting
Where the governing policy requires it, prepare and distribute accurate minutes. If a participant protested a discussion, seek to have that protest recorded as the policy directs. Agendas and minutes support orderly, accountable meetings; they do not make prohibited conduct lawful.
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Technical standard setting is not the same as agreeing on prices or dividing customers, but a project’s technical purpose does not automatically resolve competition-law concerns. Linux Foundation Europe’s policy says project requirements are voluntary and prohibits restricting alternatives or preventing the supply of products that do not conform. It also states: “Technical participation in any Project shall be open to all, subject only to compliance with the policies of LF Europe, including without limitation the provisions of the charter applicable to such Project.”
That is Linux Foundation Europe policy, not blanket legal approval for every standard, licensing choice, governance rule, or participation restriction. If a proposed technical requirement could exclude alternatives or affect what participants can supply, raise the question with qualified counsel before treating it as an ordinary engineering decision.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How the legal framework differs by jurisdiction
European Union
The European Commission summarizes Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) as prohibiting restrictive agreements between independent market operators; its cartel examples include price fixing and market sharing. Article 102 addresses abuse of a dominant position, with examples including unfair prices, limiting production, or refusing to innovate to consumers’ detriment. These are high-level descriptions, not a complete analysis of how EU law applies to a particular software project.
The Commission identifies TFEU Articles 101–106 as the treaty competition rules. Its legislation materials also distinguish the law itself from guidance: guidelines and notices are not themselves rules of law, although notices may produce legal effects and guidelines operate as practice rules. Keep that distinction clear when relying on regulator material or a foundation policy.
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United States
The Federal Trade Commission’s competition-guidance index points to DOJ/FTC Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors and intellectual-property licensing guidance. An index is a starting point, not a substitute for reviewing the relevant current guidance or getting advice on the project’s facts. The Linux Foundation’s U.S. policy separately provides meeting conduct guidance and tells participants to contact their respective counsel.
What LFC105 covers
The Linux Foundation Education listing describes LFC105 as beginner-level training for contributors, maintainers, steering committee members, and governing board members. It addresses how antitrust and competition laws apply to open source projects, safe collaboration, and conduct to avoid. The listing describes one hour of self-paced online course material and 90 days of access; it displayed a $0 price when the page was checked in 2026, and terms may change. The course is general education, not legal advice for a project or participant.
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