Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and other Alternative License Models


Book Description

This book discusses the main legal questions raised by free and open source software (FOSS) licenses and other alternative license models, such as Creative Commons. The legal questions raised by FOSS and other alternative licenses have been the subject of an intense international debate among legal scholars and practising lawyers in the last years. Courts in different jurisdictions have confirmed that the core features of FOSS licenses are compliant with the respective applicable laws and thus enforceable in the respective jurisdictions. What is still missing so far is an in-depth comparative analysis of the legal issues raised by FOSS, Creative Commons and other alternative license on a worldwide scale. This book presents a general report on FOSS licenses and alternative license models to establish common ground and enable comparison between jurisdictions. The general report is followed by 24 national reports covering the world's most important IT-markets. General and national reports use the same structure to facilitate the comparison. The book shows that despite the differences in their origins, all FOSS projects use detailed licenses for the organisation of their communities. It also shows the differences in the proofing of these licenses by courts in some jurisdictions and the tailor-made provisions established by some legislators to solve the legal issues raised by the license model.




Open Source Systems: Long-Term Sustainability


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International IFIP WG 2.13 Conference on Open Source Systems, OSS 2012, held in Hammamet, Tunisia, in September 2012. The 15 revised full papers presented together with 17 lightning talks, 2 tool demonstration papers, 6 short industry papers, 5 posters and 2 workshop papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 63 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on collaboration and forks in OSS projects, community issues, open education and peer-production models, integration and architecture, business ecosystems, adoption and evolution of OSS, OSS quality, OSS in different domains, product development, and industrial experiences.







Open Source Software: Quality Verification


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 9th International IFIP WG 2.13 Conference on Open Source Systems, OSS 2013, held in Koper-Capodistria, Slovenia, in June 2013. The 18 revised full papers and 3 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected. The papers are organized in topical sections on innovation and sustainability; practices and methods; FOSS technologies; security and open standards; and business models and licensing.





Book Description




Symposium


Book Description




Les logiciels libres face au droit


Book Description

Rassemblant des membres des Facultés de Droit, des Sciences Economiques et Sociales et de l'Institut d'Informatique, le Centre de Recherches Informatique et Droit des Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix à Namur constitue une expérience originale et unique en Belgique de recherche interdisciplinaire Droit - Informatique - Economie. Le C.R.I.D. se donne pour objectif de faire progresser la réflexion dans deux domaines : 1. "Le droit de l'informatique" (au sens large), d'une part, ou, de façon plus précise, l'ensemble des questions juridiques et institutionnelles suscitées par les nouveaux moyens de traitement et de transport de l'information (informatique, télématique, réseaux) ; 2. "L'information juridique", d'autre part, entendant par là les problèmes liés au traitement automatique de l'information juridique. Dans les deux domaines, le C.R.I.D. est attentif à la dimension politique, économique, sociale voire culturelle des choix législatifs ou réglementaires opérés.




Access to Knowledge for Consumers


Book Description

Information Program grantee Consumers International has released the results of a global survey designed to expose the obstacles consumers face in gaining access to education and cultural materials. The survey was conducted in 13 languages, covering 15,000 consumers across 24 countries. The survey found that "The biggest barriers that consumers face in accessing copyright works are those created by copyright law. Even so, consumers around the world will choose original copyright works over pirated copies, provided that they are available at an affordable price." While borrowing from libraries and other cultural institutions provided a viable alternative for some consumers priced out of original copyrighted works, the survey found that, particularly in developing countries, "access to libraries is limited and the works they carry are few." Although the authors of the survey saw "copyleft" initiatives like Open Educational Resources and Free and Open Source Software as great ways to help consumers vault access barriers, they concluded that governments needed to act "to address consumers' needs for lower cost original materials to buy, borrow and access online." The survey forms the first two chapters of Consumers International's new report Access to Knowledge for Consumers: Reports of Campaigns and Research 2008-2010"--Publisher description.




Data protection in the context of covid-19. A short (hi)story of tracing applications


Book Description

The volume presents the results of a research project (named “Legafight”) funded by the Luxembourg Fond National de la Recherche in order to verify if and how digital tracing applications could be implemented in the Grand-Duchy in order to counter and abate the Covid-19 pandemic. This inevitably brought to a deep comparative overview of the various existing various models, starting from that of the European Union and those put into practice by Belgium, France, Germany and Italy, with attention also to some Anglo-Saxon approaches (the UK and Australia). Not surprisingly the main issue which had to be tackled was that of the protection of the personal data collected through the tracing applications, their use by public health authorities and the trust laid in tracing procedures by citizens. Over the last 18 months tracing apps have registered a rise, a fall, and a sudden rebirth as mediums devoted not so much to collect data, but rather to distribute real time information which should allow informed decisions and be used as repositories of health certifications.




Pour une nouvelle mondialisation


Book Description

"Les auteurs analysent les formes d'action collective novatrices qui émergent depuis la crise de 2008 et posent les jalons d'un nouveau modèle de mondialisation construit autour de l'inclusion, de la solidarité et de l'écologie. Leurs contributions sont issues du 3e colloque international tenu par le Centre de recherche sur les innovations sociales (CRISES) en avril 2011." In this book, the authors analyze the innovative forms of collective action that have emerged since the 2008 economic crisis and lay the groundwork for a new model of globalization built around inclusion, solidarity, and ecology. Their contributions stem from the 3rd international symposium held by the Centre de Recherche Sur Les Innovations Sociales (CRISES) in April 2011.