Open Source Licensing


Book Description

"I have studied Rosen's book in detail and am impressed with its scope and content. I strongly recommend it to anybody interested in the current controversies surrounding open source licensing." --John Terpstra, Samba.org; cofounder, Samba-Team "Linux and open source software have forever altered the computing landscape. The important conversations no longer revolve around the technology but rather the business and legal issues. Rosen's book is must reading for anyone using or providing open source solutions." --Stuart Open Source Development Labs A Complete Guide to the Law of Open Source for Developers, Managers, and Lawyers Now that open source software is blossoming around the world, it is crucial to understand how open source licenses work--and their solid legal foundations. Open Source Initiative general counsel Lawrence Rosen presents a plain-English guide to open source law for developers, managers, users, and lawyers. Rosen clearly explains the intellectual property laws that support open source licensing, carefully reviews today's leading licenses, and helps you make the best choices for your project or organization. Coverage includes: Explanation of why the SCO litigation and other attacks won't derail open source Dispelling the myths of open source licensing Intellectual property law for nonlawyers: ownership and licensing of copyrights, patents, and trademarks "Academic licenses" BSD, MIT, Apache, and beyond The "reciprocal bargain" at the heart of the GPL Alternative licenses: Mozilla, CPL, OSL and AFL Benefits of open source, and the obligations and risks facing businesses that deploy open source software Choosing the right license: considering business models, product architecture, IP ownership, license compatibility issues, relicensing, and more Enforcing the terms and conditions of open source licenses Shared source, eventual source, and other alternative models to open source Protecting yourself against lawsuits




Understanding Open Source and Free Software Licensing


Book Description

The book wraps up with a look at the legal effects--both positive and negative--of open source/free software licensing.




Source Licensing


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The Rise of Open Source Licensing


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Intellectual Property and Open Source


Book Description

"Clear, correct, and deep, this is a welcome addition to discussions of law and computing for anyone -- even lawyers!"-- Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the Stanford Center for Internet and Society If you work in information technology, intellectual property is central to your job -- but dealing with the complexities of the legal system can be mind-boggling. This book is for anyone who wants to understand how the legal system deals with intellectual property rights for code and other content. You'll get a clear look at intellectual property issues from a developer's point of view, including practical advice about situations you're likely to encounter. Written by an intellectual property attorney who is also a programmer, Intellectual Property and Open Source helps you understand patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and licenses, with special focus on the issues surrounding open source development and the GPL. This book answers questions such as: How do open source and intellectual property work together? What are the most important intellectual property-related issues when starting a business or open source project? How should you handle copyright, licensing and other issues when accepting a patch from another developer? How can you pursue your own ideas while working for someone else? What parts of a patent should be reviewed to see if it applies to your work? When is your idea a trade secret? How can you reverse engineer a product without getting into trouble? What should you think about when choosing an open source license for your project? Most legal sources are too scattered, too arcane, and too hard to read. Intellectual Property and Open Source is a friendly, easy-to-follow overview of the law that programmers, system administrators, graphic designers, and many others will find essential.




Music Licensing Reform


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The IT / Digital Legal Companion


Book Description

"To compete effectively in digital business markets, you need to understand how the law affects your digital technology business. The contents include detailed plain English business and legal guidance on: Securing Intellectual Property for Digital Business; Digital Contract Fundamentals; Open Source Rules and Strategies, Development, Consulting and Outsourcing; Software as a Service; Business Software Licensing, Partnering and Distribution; Web and Internet Agreements; Privacy on the Internet; Digital Multimedia Content Clearance and Distribution; IT Standards; Web and Mobile Technology and Content Deals; Video Game Development Deals; International Distribution; User-Created Content, Mash-ups, MMOGs and Web Widgets; And Much More ."--Publisher's website.




Handbook of Research on Open Source Software: Technological, Economic, and Social Perspectives


Book Description

This handbook of research is one of the few texts to combine Open Source Software (OSS) in public and private sector activities into a single reference source. It examines how the use of OSS affects practices in society, business, government, education, and law.




Research Handbook on Intellectual Property Licensing


Book Description

'Transactions involving intellectual property whether by way of out-and-out assignment or by one of the myriad variants of licensing which are possible, are really really important – they help the world of business go round. But such transactions can be complex with things like national rules preventing alienation getting in the way of bargains people wish to make. So it is quite astonishing how sparse the literature on the subject is – particularly literature taking a comparative view. This book is perhaps the very first of its kind, taking as it does perspectives from the major legal systems of the world. Moreover its distinguished authors have not written in a technical or abstruse way – as academics (and some judges) can all too easily do. Far from it. This book is readable – and anyone concerned with intellectual property licensing should read it and will find it a pleasure to do so. They will also learn a lot about some of the pitfalls and bear-traps to be found around the world. At UCL we have recognised the importance of this subject. This book will be on our students' reading list.' – The Rt. Hon. Sir Robin Jacob, UCL Faculty of Laws, UK 'IP licensing underpins the information economy. This impressive book brings together leading academic lawyers and practitioners from a range of key jurisdictions to explore a number of major current issues. The book is both thoughtful and practical and it is not afraid to call for greater harmonization of IP licensing law. It is a must have for all those involved in the field.' – Simon Stokes, Blake Lapthorn 'This Research Handbook provides a valuable mix of practical and theoretical perspectives on IP licensing and will serve as a reference resource for scholars and practitioners in this field of study.' – Francesco Parisi, University of Minnesota, US and University of Bologna, Italy 'The Handbook brings together a unique collection of world renowned experts providing detailed discussion in every chapter. The brilliance of this collective work is found in its broad two dimensional focus – beyond patents to all key IP assets on the one hand, and country specific discussion for key regions around the world on the other. . . Whether read cover-to-cover as a compilation of current best practice or used as a true reference guide, the Research Handbook on Intellectual Property Licensing is a must have for anyone seeking to capture value from intangible assets.' – From the foreword by James E. Malackowski The Research Handbook on Intellectual Property Licensing explores the complexities of intellectual property licensing law from a comparative perspective through the opinions of leading experts. This major research tool analyses the features of specific types of licensing agreements and also addresses other practical issues which apply across different types of licensing transactions, such as the treatment of licensing in bankruptcy and the use of arbitration for solving licensing disputes. The Handbook ultimately provides a scholarly contribution to the development of global intellectual property licensing policies. Including transversal and comparative analysis, this Handbook will appeal to intellectual property licensing practitioners, lawyers and intellectual property and contract law academics.