The Decoder

Understanding the Open Source Status and License Agreement of Meta's LLaMa 2

Breaking News:

Meta has released LLaMa 2, a collection of open-access large language models (LLMs), with a license agreement that allows for free research and commercial use. However, some industry experts dispute Meta's characterization of LLaMa 2 as open source.

The Difference Between Open Source and Open Access:

While both terms refer to publicly available software, open source software typically allows users to modify and redistribute the code, while open access software may have restrictions on modification and sharing. Meta's LLaMa 2 falls under the category of open access, as its license does not allow users to modify or redistribute the code.

Understanding the License Agreement:

To gain access to LLaMa 2, users must acknowledge the license agreement, which prohibits commercial use of the models without explicit permission from Meta. However, non-commercial use is allowed without restriction.

Implications for Research and Commercial Use:

Despite not being fully open source, LLaMa 2's open access status allows researchers to freely use the models for research purposes. However, commercial entities will need to obtain permission from Meta if they wish to use the models for commercial applications.

Industry Dispute:

Some industry observers argue that Meta's characterization of LLaMa 2 as open source is misleading, as the license agreement does not grant users the full freedoms associated with open source software. Meta maintains that LLaMa 2 is open source because the models are available to the public for non-commercial use.

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