As a logical middle ground, companies <i>can</i> (and do) release source code for review under NDA without becoming &quot;open source&quot; (Usually to government &#x2F; military clients where access to the source code is a requirement for the contract. See <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Shared_source#Microsoft_Government_Security_Program" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Shared_source#Microsoft_Govern...</a> for an example). This would hopefully be acceptable for all parties concerned where courts are involved.