At the beginning of 2025, DeepSeek's Open-Source Week officially concluded. During the five-day "Open-Source Week," DeepSeek open-sourced a core technical project each day, covering multiple fields such as AI model training and file system optimization, presenting a grand intellectual feast for developers worldwide.

The Significance of DeepSeek's Open-Source Initiative

DeepSeek's open-sourcing refers to making the source code of its projects publicly available, allowing anyone to view, use, modify, and distribute it for free. The team also provides relatively complete and detailed operation guides, building a resource-rich bridge for developers.

Through algorithmic innovation, DeepSeek has compressed the training cost of large models to one-fifth of the industry average. The launched code agent development platform enables ordinary developers to create professional-grade AI applications without high-end GPU clusters. This series of open-source strategies has stirred the industry landscape like a catfish, prompting closed-source dominant enterprises such as OpenAI to revisit and adjust their intellectual property protection strategies, thus triggering deep reflections on the intellectual property game in open-source software across the industry.

Advantages of Open-Source Software

Today, as AI technology evolves rapidly, while the closed-source model can protect enterprises' core technologies, it also restricts technological dissemination and application.

In contrast, open-source acts as a clear stream, promoting technological sharing and communication. Developers can conduct secondary development based on existing open-source code, avoiding repeated labor and improving development efficiency. It also lowers the technical threshold, enabling more enterprises and individuals to use advanced technologies and driving the overall development of the industry.

Taking DeepSeek as an example, developers can freely use its open-source code for model training and optimization according to the protocol, quickly implementing their own applications. They can also carry out secondary development based on the code or integrate it into their projects.

Additionally, open-source attracts the participation of numerous developers, allowing the code to undergo broader review and improvement. Potential issues are promptly identified and fixed, thus significantly enhancing software quality.

The Intellectual Property Game in Open-Source Software

In the process of software open-sourcing, open-source licenses promote knowledge sharing and innovation by allowing users to freely use, modify, and distribute software. An open-source license is a set of rules and clauses formulated by open-source software authors to protect their rights, specifying the norms that users must follow when using, modifying, and distributing open-source software. Common open-source licenses include the MIT License and the GPL License, each with different usage conditions and restrictions.

The GPL License is known for its "viral nature," requiring any derivative work based on the GPL to also be open-sourced under the GPL license, ensuring the continuous inheritance of the open-source spirit. However, it also sets a threshold for closed-source use by commercial companies.

The MIT License is more lenient, granting users the right to freely use, modify, copy, and distribute software, provided that the original author's copyright notice and license statement are retained. It does not mandate that derivative works be open-sourced, enabling third parties to integrate the code into closed-source commercial software. GPL and MIT, one strict and one lenient, meet the needs of different scenarios, demonstrating the flexibility and wisdom of open-source licenses.

Harmonious Coexistence of Open-Source and Intellectual Property

In the intellectual property system, "monopoly" and "sharing" are not mutually exclusive, and moderate monopoly remains necessary. Although DeepSeek has adopted an open-source strategy, it still actively applies for patents in core fields such as data processing and distributed training to prevent technology theft or litigation risks.

Facing the challenges brought by open-sourcing, DeepSeek promotes technological dissemination through open-source on the one hand, and protects its intellectual property through means such as patents and trademarks on the other. Up to now, DeepSeek has unreservedly contributed most algorithmic and engineering details to the open-source community, while still holding some non-replicable core capabilities, such as deep expertise in model training and details of training data.

Applying for defensive patents in core technical fields allows DeepSeek to restrict competitors' commercial use of related technologies through patent claims, even if the open-source code implies such technical solutions. This model of "patent application + technical open-sourcing" not only promotes technological dissemination but also protects core competitiveness. It retains exclusive control over core technologies while relaxing exclusive rights to drive collaborative innovation.

DeepSeek's open-source decision not only demonstrates the innovative strength of China's AI industry but also brings enlightenment and challenges to the entire industry. Developers and enterprises need to fully recognize these challenges, continue to advance in the intellectual property game, and jointly contribute more well-being to human society. Striking a balance between private monopoly and knowledge sharing to inspire innovation is the eternal value pursuit of the intellectual property system.