Protecode

Protecode was a private software company based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, focused on open-source software license compliance and related security management for software-development organizations. Its products were designed to inspect a codebase, identify incorporated open-source and third-party components, and connect those components with licensing, copyright, and compliance information. This addressed a growing problem for companies distributing software that contained code obtained from public repositories or other external sources: organizations needed to understand what they were shipping, which license terms applied, and whether attribution, notice, source-disclosure, or other obligations had been triggered. The company's principal offering was the Protecode Enterprise System, a suite for open-source software management. The system used a proprietary database of indexed public open-source projects to compare against customer code. Its output included a software inventory and a cross-reference to licensing and copyright attributes, enabling development, legal, and compliance teams to review obligations before a product release. Protecode also offered code-auditing services intended to identify open-source and third-party components and their associated obligations in advance of product launches, corporate transactions, and other diligence events. Protecode participated in the broader ecosystem surrounding enterprise software-development tools and open-source governance. Its products were associated with IBM PartnerWorld, and System 4 was validated by IBM Rational for use with Rational Team Concert and Rational ClearCase. Protecode was also available through IBM SmartCloud, while Protecode Library Auditor integrated with Perforce. The company belonged to or supported several technology and standards organizations, including the Linux Foundation, the Eclipse Foundation, and the GENIVI Alliance. It contributed to the Linux Foundation's Open Compliance Program and supported the SPDX specification, an effort to standardize the exchange of software-package and licensing information. The brand received industry recognition during its independent period. Gartner included Protecode in its 2010 "Cool Vendors in Intellectual Property" report, and the Branham Group listed it among Canada's Top 25 IT Up and Comers in 2009. In 2013, Protecode announced a single-seat scanning tool intended to make open-source management more accessible to individual users or smaller deployment scenarios. Synopsys acquired Protecode in November 2015 for undisclosed terms. Following the acquisition, the Protecode technology and offering became known as Black Duck Binary Analysis, linking it to Synopsys's broader software-composition-analysis and application-security portfolio. Protecode therefore no longer operates as an independent company or standalone brand, although its technology continued through the successor offering.

Protecode developed in Ottawa as a specialist provider of open-source software governance technology. Its business addressed the need for software producers to understand the external code incorporated into their products. Rather than treating open-source compliance as a manual legal-review exercise alone, Protecode's approach combined source-code scanning with an indexed database of publicly available open-source projects. The resulting analysis could identify components, associate them with copyright and license information, and produce an inventory for technical, legal, and compliance review. The company's core platform was the Protecode Enterprise System. It was aimed at organizations developing or distributing software at scale and supported the preparation of reports showing the open-source materials found in a codebase and the obligations connected with those materials. Such obligations could include attribution, copyright notices, license text, source-code availability, or other conditions depending on the license and the way the component was used. Protecode also provided code-auditing services that extended this work to third-party software and to due diligence performed before product releases or mergers and acquisitions. Protecode built relationships with established development-tool and open-source organizations. System 4 received validation from IBM Rational for IBM Rational Team Concert and IBM Rational ClearCase, and Protecode was associated with IBM PartnerWorld and IBM SmartCloud. Protecode Library Auditor integrated with Perforce, helping connect component analysis with an established source-code management environment. The company also participated in the Linux Foundation, contributed to its Open Compliance Program, and supported SPDX, a specification intended to make software-license and package information more consistently exchangeable. Membership or participation in the Eclipse Foundation and GENIVI Alliance further placed the company within enterprise and embedded-software communities. Recognition in 2009 and 2010 reflected the company's position as an emerging Canadian technology provider. The Branham Group placed it among Canada's Top 25 IT Up and Comers, while Gartner included it in a Cool Vendors report concerning intellectual property. In 2013, Protecode announced a single-seat scanning product, broadening the apparent usability of its technology beyond larger enterprise deployments. The independent-company phase ended when Synopsys acquired Protecode in November 2015. No purchase price was publicly identified in the cited material. After the transaction, the technology was integrated and marketed as Black Duck Binary Analysis. This successor identity connected Protecode's component-identification and open-source compliance capabilities with Synopsys's wider application-security and software-composition-analysis activities. Protecode is consequently best understood today as a predecessor brand and acquired technology rather than an active standalone company.

• 2015

  Acquired by Synopsys

  [1]Protecodeen.wikipedia.org

  Synopsys acquired Protecode in November; the technology later became known as Black Duck Binary Analysis.

• 2013

  Announced a single-seat scanning tool

  [1]Protecodeen.wikipedia.org

  The company announced a single-seat tool for open-source management scanning.

• 2010

  Recognized by Gartner

  [1]Protecodeen.wikipedia.org

  Protecode appeared in Gartner's Cool Vendors in Intellectual Property report.

• 2009

  Named a Canadian IT up-and-comer

  [1]Protecodeen.wikipedia.org

  The Branham Group included Protecode in its Top 25 Canadian IT Up and Comers list.

Enterprise-oriented software for discovering open-source and third-party components, mapping them to licensing and copyright information, and helping development and legal teams manage compliance before release, distribution, or merger-and-acquisition activity.

• Open-source license-compliance platform

  Protecode Enterprise System

  Protecode's principal enterprise suite used code comparison and a proprietary database of indexed public open-source projects to identify components in a software codebase. It generated an inventory of detected software and cross-referenced components with licensing and copyright information, helping organizations assess obligations before releasing or distributing a product.

• Software library analysis

  Protecode Library Auditor

  Library Auditor was a Protecode tool for examining software libraries and identifying open-source or third-party materials and their associated licensing information. Its integration with Perforce connected component and compliance review with a source-code management workflow.

• Open-source compliance software

  System 4

  System 4 was part of Protecode's enterprise software offering. It received validation from IBM Rational for use with Rational Team Concert and Rational ClearCase, supporting the incorporation of open-source component analysis into established software-development and configuration-management environments.

• Code-scanning software · 2013

  Single-seat open-source management scanning tool

  Announced in 2013, this tool was intended for single-seat use and provided a more focused way to scan software for open-source components and related management information.

• 2015

  Synopsys acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Protecode operated as a private provider of open-source license and security management software for software-development organizations.

  Action taken

  Synopsys acquired Protecode in November 2015 for terms that were not disclosed in the cited reference material.

  Aftermath

  The Protecode technology was subsequently known as Black Duck Binary Analysis and ceased to operate as an independent Protecode brand.

  Source

1. 1Protecodeen.wikipedia.org