Source code escrow: Difference between revisions

'''Source code escrow''' is the deposit of the [[source code]] of [[software]] with a third-party [[escrow]] agent. Escrow is typically requested by a party licensing software (the licensee), to ensure maintenance of the software instead of [[Abandonware|abandonment]] or [[Orphaned worktechnology|orphaning]]. The software's source code is released to the licensee if the licensor files for bankruptcy or otherwise fails to maintain and update the software as promised in the software [[license agreement]].

Museums, archives and other [[GLAM (industry sector)|GLAM]] organizations have begun to act as independent escrow agents due to growing [[digital obsolescence]]. Notable examples are the [[Internet Archive]] in 2007,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/clasp |title=The Internet Archive Classic Software Preservation Project | publisher=[[Internet Archive]] |access-date=October 21, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071019034848/https://archive.org/details/clasp| archive-date= October 19, 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://waxy.org/2008/04/milliways_infocoms_unreleased_sequel_to_hitchhikers_guide_to_the_galax/ |title=Milliways: Infocom's Unreleased Sequel to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|date=Apr 17, 2008|quote=''From an anonymous source close to the company, I've found myself in possession of the "Infocom Drive" — a complete backup of Infocom's shared network drive from 1989.[...] Among the assets included: design documents, email archives, employee phone numbers, sales figures, internal meeting notes, corporate newsletters, and the source code and game files for every released and unreleased game Infocom made''|publisher=waxy.org|first=Andy|last=Baio|accessdate=January 26, 2016}}</ref> the [[Library of Congress]] in 2006,<ref name="New York Times">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/arts/design/12vide.html?_r=4&ref=technology&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin |title=Is That Just Some Game? No, It's a Cultural Artifact |last=Chaplin |first=Heather |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=March 12, 2007 |accessdate=September 27, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/meet-the-men-trying-to-immortalize-video-games |title=Meet The Men Trying To Immortalize Video Games |author=Joseph Bernstein |website=[[BuzzFeed]] |date=October 27, 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=August 22, 2016}}</ref> [[International Center for the History of Electronic Games|ICHEG]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museumofplay.org/blog/chegheads/2010/10/ichegs-approach-to-collecting-and-preserving-video-games/ |title=ICHEG's Approach to Collecting and Preserving Video Games |first=Jon-Paul C. |last=Dyson |date=October 13, 2010 |accessdate=August 22, 2014 |publisher=museumofplay.org}}</ref> [[Computer History Museum]],<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.computerhistory.org/highlights/macpaint/ | title = MacPaint and QuickDraw Source Code | work = Computer History Museum | date = July 20, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2010/07/apple_donates_macpaint_source_code_to_computer_history_museum.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209010310/http://www.businessweek.com/technology/ByteOfTheApple/blog/archives/2010/07/apple_donates_macpaint_source_code_to_computer_history_museum.html |archivedate=February 9, 2012 |publisher=businessweek.com |date=July 20, 2010 |title=Apple Donates MacPaint Source Code To Computer History Museum |first=ErikArik |last=Hesseldahl}}</ref> or the [[MOMA]].<ref>{{cite journalmagazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2013/05/moma-video-games/|title='All Hell Broke Loose': Why MoMA Is Exhibiting Tetris and Pac-Man|first=Bo |last=Moore|journalmagazine=Wired|date=May 30, 2013 |publisher=wired.com |accessdate=January 18, 2016 |quote=''The end goal is to acquire the game’s original source code, which can be quite difficult to pry away from secretive gamemakers. If that’s not possible at first, Antonelli at least wants to wedge her foot in the door. “We’re going to stay with them forever,” she said. “They’re not going to get rid of us. And one day, we’ll get that code.”''}}</ref>

There are many cases of [[End-of-life (product)|end-of-life]] open-sourcing which allow the community continued self-support, see [[List of commercial video games with later released source code]] and [[List of commercial software with available source code]].

* [https://books.google.com/books?id=wJswszKTwl4C&lpg=PA99&dq=source%20code%20escrow+code+escrow&pg=PA99#v=onepage&q=source%20code%20escrow&f=true Computerworld (7/20/92, page 99): Don't Rush Into Source Code Escrow]

* [https://books.google.com/books?id=-ECKqAsQzUIC&lpg=PA263&dq=source%20code%20escrow+code+escrow&pg=PA262#v=onepage&q=source%20code%20escrow&f=false A Guide to IT Contracting: Checklists, Tools, and Techniques] ({{ISBN|9781439876572}}, 2013) - Page 262