Akaza has chosen to distribute the OpenClinica platform under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). Adopting the LGPL provides the following benefits and attributes:
- Allows unlimited distribution of the unmodified OpenClinica source code among both academic and commercial entities; no software licensing fees are incurred. This ensures wide-spread adoption and affordability.
- Restricts others from making proprietary derivative commercial distributions based on the core OpenClinica framework; under the LGPL you are required to publicly release all such modifications, thus extending the platform and its benefits to a wider community.
- Ensures that any changes made to the code for internal use and distribution can remain proprietary and do not have to be incorporated into the core OpenClinica platform; this addresses potential concerns related to revealing security and specialized organizational practices within institutional settings.
- Provides incentives for development of customized solutions and open or proprietary components based on the core (unmodified) OpenClinica platform by Akaza, its partners and other institutions or developers. This benefits both academic and commercial users, while making the overall platform better supported and a more attractive choice for end users and institutions.
- Allows developers who contribute to OpenClinica an ability to maintain a copyright to their work, get attributed for their contributions, and a means to ensure that the core platform will always be available for distribution freely.
- Ensures standardization in the core framework and reduces the likelihood of numerous incompatible variations to the core OpenClinica platform. This assures an open, standardized and robust software platform with a stable code-base and release cycles.
A key long-term goal for adopting the LGPL is to ensure the OpenClinica platform is widely adopted and extended by an expanding network of users, developers and partners in a sustainable manner in both academic research and commercial settings.

OpenClinica is an open source web-based software platform that enables sponsors and investigators to manage clinical research data in multi-site studies. It facilitates protocol configuration, design of case report forms, electronic data capture, and study/data management. OpenClinica supports HIPAA and 21 CFR Part 11 guidelines and is designed as a strictly standards-based, extensible, and modular platform. OpenClinica v1.0 was released in late October 2005 under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL).