Are OSS licenses legally enforceable?
Yes, in general. For advice about a specific situation, however, consult with legal counsel. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s 2008 ruling on Jacobsen v. Katzer made it clear that OSS licenses are enforceable, even if money is not exchanged. It noted that a copyright holder may dedicate a “certain work to free public use and yet enforce an ‘open source’ copyright license to control the future distribution and modification of that work… Open source licensing has become a widely used method of creative collaboration that serves to advance the arts and sciences in a manner and at a pace that few could have imagined just a few decades ago… Traditionally, copyright owners sold their copyrighted material in exchange for money. The lack of money changing hands in open source licensing should not be presumed to mean that there is no economic consideration, however. There are substantial benefits, including economic benefits, to the creation and distribution of copyrighted
