Law

On copyright aggregation

A collaborative activity dubbed Project Harmony is now under way between corporate and corporate-sponsored participants in the free and open source software communities (not to be confused with the Apache Java project of the same name). The project seeks to harmonise the various participant and contributor agreements – collectively termed “contributor agreements” by some – used by many open source projects. » Read more

0 CommentsPosted 1 Sep 2010 by Simon Phipps

Can programming language names be trademarks?

Can–or should–a programming language name be a trademark? The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the administrative board within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that adjudicates whether trademarks can be registered, recently decided that the word “Lua” was not a generic name for a programming language, but rather that the term referred to a particular proprietary language. Is it right though, that someone is allowed to exercise proprietary rights over a programming language name? » Read more

3 CommentsPosted 31 Aug 2010 by Pam Chestek (Red Hat)

Lawrence Lessig's new journey (part two)

I think I was as surprised as anyone when I heard that Larry Lessig was stepping away from Creative Commons. It seemed like a sudden change of direction, because Lessig has been a vocal advocate for freedom and choice for so many years. But as I hear Lessig describe his journey from Creative Commons to Change Congress, I’m reminded of Daniel Okrent’s history of the prohibition movement in the United States, "Last Call". » Read more

1 CommentPosted 24 Aug 2010 by Gunnar Hellekson (Red Hat)

Eben Moglen on what it takes to keep defending FOSS

Eben Moglen's keynote address at LinuxCon last week, "Doing What it Takes: Current Legal Issues in Defending FOSS," called for a strategic shift in the free software movement. Moglen, the founding director of the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) and one of the principal drafters of the GPLv3, said the economy of sharing and the economy of ownership are not mutually hostile, but mutually reinforcing, then outlined three steps for ensuring the continued coexistence between the free software and business communities. » Read more

2 CommentsPosted 19 Aug 2010 by Ruth Suehle (Red Hat)

Lawrence Lessig’s new journey (part one)

Maybe you’ve heard of Lawrence Lessig. Maybe as Larry Lessig. Then again, maybe you haven’t. But perhaps you’ve heard of free culture as a movement or Creative Commons or DRM, or copyright law. How about freedom? » Read more

1 CommentPosted 17 Aug 2010 by Colby Hoke (Red Hat)

A weak case for software patents

For all the debate and litigation around software patents, I thought that there was at least one point on which all sides could agree: the objective of the U.S. patent system is to stimulate innovation.  A recent IP blog takes issue with that premise, and proposes an alternative objective: making money.  The blog gives a distorted view of  Red Hat's patent portfolio program in support of this argument.  The argument is interesting, and suggests that there's still a steep hill to climb to get to a rational patent policy for software. » Read more

26 CommentsPosted 12 Aug 2010 by Rob Tiller (Red Hat)

Trademarks – the good, the bad and the ugly

By Harvey Anderson

Trademarks used for open source projects–like for the Mozilla Firefox browser–will often be misused. It can take the form of a website selling open source software that is normally distributed for free, using the trademark to promote other products and services, or using modified versions of the trademark. The problem is that these activities are deceptive, harm users, cause consumer confusion, and jeopardize the identity and meaning of the brand–not to mention being illegal. » Read more

0 CommentsPosted 9 Aug 2010 by Pam Chestek (Red Hat)

iPhone jailbreaking decision is temporary relief

While the decision by the US Library of Congress to create exceptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for unlocking cellphones and jailbreaking iPhones (among other things) in the USA are very welcome, the reaction has been just a touch too euphoric. Not by everyone, mind you. » Read more

2 CommentsPosted 29 Jul 2010 by Simon Phipps

New Zealand rejects software patents

Recently the NZ govt announced that it was to remove software from the list of items that can be patented. This decision came after hectic lobbying from the open source community on one side and the proprietary vendors on the other side. » Read more

17 CommentsPosted 26 Jul 2010 by Venkatesh Hariharan (Venky) (Red Hat)

Collaborating on patent examinations

The willingness to collaborate brought us free and open source software.  Now we continue to see that willingness to collaborate permeate our government agencies.  A prime example is the Peer To Patent program developed at New York Law School by Prof. » Read more

2 CommentsPosted 22 Jul 2010 by Mark Webbink