117-010 · Question #38
Which one of the following is true about Open Source software?
The correct answer is B. Open Source software is available for commercial use. See the full explanation below for the reasoning.
Question
Which one of the following is true about Open Source software?
Options
- AOpen Source softwarecannotbe copied for free.
- BOpen Source software is available for commercial use.
- CThe freedom to redistribute copies must include binary or executable forms of the software but
- DOpen Source software is not for sale.
How the community answered
(48 responses)- A10% (5)
- B83% (40)
- C4% (2)
- D2% (1)
Community Discussion
9
Dervla O.Nov 29, 2025B is your confirmed answer. Open Source licenses, by definition, permit commercial use, which is one of the core criteria in the Open Source Definition, so any option claiming OSS cannot be sold or used commercially is contradicting the very standard that defines the category.
Devraj B.Nov 29, 2025Solid point, and worth adding for the exam that copyleft licenses like the GPL do impose share-alike conditions on derivatives, so candidates sometimes confuse "distribution requirements" with "commercial restrictions" and get tripped up on questions that test exactly that distinction under the LPI 010 open-source philosophy objectives.
Devraj B.Dec 9, 2025Can you sell something and still let others freely redistribute it?
Dervla O.Dec 11, 2025Yes, dual licensing lets you charge for commercial use while keeping a free redistribution tier, but the boundary between those tiers needs to be airtight in your license text or you will spend more time answering "does my use case qualify" emails than selling anything.
Grace U.Nov 7, 2025C nails it, redistribution in all forms is the core rule.
Anjali D.Nov 8, 2025Grace, I see where you're coming from, but the group landed on B because that option captures the specific restriction the question is testing, which is about a narrower condition than redistribution broadly. C is tempting but it overreaches the scope of what the rule actually covers.
Viktor S.Nov 21, 2025Saw this exact trap on my exam and almost second-guessed myself because I kept confusing "free as in freedom" with "free as in price." B is right because the Open Source Definition from the OSI explicitly requires that the license must not restrict anyone from selling or giving away the software, meaning commercial use is not just allowed, it is required to be allowed, which immediately kills D and A and makes C irrelevant noise.
Grace U.Nov 24, 2025Viktor nailed the core reasoning, though it is worth adding that "must not restrict" is not quite the same as "required to be allowed" since the OSD says nothing requiring commercial use to exist, only that the license cannot prohibit it.
Anjali D.Dec 4, 2025I almost went with D because I kept conflating "free as in freedom" with "free as in price," which is exactly the trap they set for us. Once I remembered that the OSI definition explicitly allows commercial use and redistribution for profit, B was the only one that held up. Anyone else get tripped up by C? That one felt like it was close to something real but the wording was off enough to make me nervous about it.