One of the largest challenges of producing open source, is to stay in contact with the users of the software. We propose UseSECO: an infrastructure that in a distributed ledger registers use of open source package usage, with the goal of increasing trust, transparency, and security of the software ecosystem. UseSECO provides benefits for software engineers and open source product managers: they can (1) track where their packages are being used and by whom, (2) whether this usage is licensed, (3) track which versions are being used in the field, and (4) in case of hybrid licensing bill commercial end users for their usage with different business models.
