The Black Duck™ Protex software compliance management system helps companies govern how their source code, contained in a Subversion repository, is created, managed, and licensed. Protex is a multi-user software application that enables enterprises to manage their use of open source software and intellectual property throughout the full development lifecycle – in planning projects, reviewing code, seeking component and license approvals, understanding license obligations, and creating reports. By scanning and analyzing software contents, providing a Bill of Materials and finding issues early in the development cycle or well in advance of a due diligence event, the Protex system helps companies reduce business risks, complete software projects on time and on budget, and stay on track with their business goals.
Reduces Business Risks: The growing use of open source software and prevalence of component-based development have made it difficult for developers to attest to the origins of a software project. The Protex platform can automatically discover and validate the origin of their code that is essential for enforcing license and other policy compliance. Protex helps organizations understand which licenses govern the modification, use, and distribution of the software in their code base. It facilitates the protection of corporate intellectual property, assists with compliance and reporting, and identifies use of licensed software that is in conflict with established licensing terms or corporate policies. Protex guides personnel in their daily use of licensed materials and enables the implementation of a repeatable business process to support corporate compliance policies.
Identifies Software Intellectual Property Issues: The Protex system alerts developers, legal counsel, and management to intellectual property issues that arise during the software development process. In addition, it provides a way to track the resolution of each issue, giving a clear, documented history to satisfy company compliance requirements. Protex creates a collaborative environment in which legal counsel and the development team can efficiently access the information they
need to make timely business decisions.
Automates Compliance and Corporate Intellectual Property Policies: Corporations that develop enterprise software as a strategic asset need to actively direct how they create, manage, and license source code through software compliance management. With open source software, distributed teams, and outsourced development becoming increasingly prevalent, companies risk losing control of their valuable intellectual property. Manual processes are inadequate, so control must be exercised by applying best practices in conjunction with automated means to manage the process.
see Black Duck Code Sight, a code search engine for transparency and access to SCM resources
Why Protex and CollabNet?
Protex enables software development teams using CollabNet Subversion to avoid the risks and issues associated with unmanaged software reuse. Protex enables developers to reuse quality, richly featured open source and commercial software components on a wide scale, and manages the complexity of license obligations by providing accurate, up-to-date component and licensing information to legal counsel and managers. By enabling the proactive management of component software, Protex reduces personnel and development costs, improves time-to-market, and makes delivery schedules more predictable.
“We selected Black Duck because of its KnowledgeBase of open source software. The maintenance of that KnowledgeBase was more robust than other solutions considered.”
—Andre Terrisse, Software Legal, Compliance Program Manager, Intel Corporation
