In brief, open source software is software which meets the following criteria:

1. Unrestricted redistribution. Open source software can be redistributed either for free or at a profit.
2. Source code. The source code (i.e. “blueprints”) for the software must be made available.
3. Derived works. The source code can be used to produce derived works.

For the complete details of what open source is, please refer to the open source definition as provided by the Open Source Initiative (OSI):http://www.opensource.org
OpenOffice.org is OSI-approved as conforming to the open source definition.

Thanks
Charley Carlin