| Software Freedom Law Center to host Legal Summit |
Jul. 18, 2007
A few years ago, the idea that savvy developers and IT professionals would need to know anything about intellectual property law would have been dismissed as a bad joke. Oh, certainly, there were arguments from time to time over fine points in the GPL Version 2, but for the most part, it didn't matter.
Then along came SCO with its lawsuit against IBM and its challenges to the legality of Linux, and everything changed.
So it's good news that the SFLC (Software Freedom Law Center), a group of lawyers that provides pro bono legal services to protect and advance FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software), announced on July 18 that it would be hosting the first Legal Summit for Software Freedom on Oct. 12. In 2007, it's not just attorneys who need to know the basics of IP law.
"The Summit will have two parts: a closed session in the morning for a private meeting of some of the world's foremost FOSS attorneys, and an open session in the afternoon
consisting of free legal presentations to the public," the SFLC said on its Web site.
"By hosting the Legal Summit, we intend to bring together leading attorneys in the Software Freedom community to discuss matters of mutual interest and concern," said Eben Moglen, executive director of SFLC, based in New York, and co-author of the GPLv3. "We also intend to welcome other lawyers and interested members of the public to the summit by giving a series of presentations on the most important FOSS-related legal topics."
"The summit will be held Friday, October 12, at Columbia Law School in New York. The public portion will begin at 2:00 pm and include legal presentations by Eben Moglen, Dan Ravicher, Richard Fontana, James Vasile, Karen Sandler and Matt Norwood, each of whom are attorneys at SFLC," the organization wrote on its site.
The group will cover such topics as licensing, copyright, patents and trademarks, as well as corporate issues related to software freedom. The SFLC is seeking to get the summit approved for Continuing Legal Education credit for New York.
The summit is free, but pre-registration is requested for the public session. More information, including how to register, is available at the event's Web site.
--Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Do you have comments on this story?
Talkback here
Related Stories:
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.
4 Legal Reasons to Control Internet Access
The Internet is obviously a valuable resource for many organizations. However, many are exposed to legal liability concerns because they fail to control Internet access. Learn if you're safe in this white paper.
Rapidly Resolve J2EE Application Problems
Whether you are in the process of building J2EE applications or have J2EE applications already running in production, you must ensure that they deliver the expected ROI. Learn how in this white paper.
Load Testing 2.0 for Web 2.0
There are many unknowns in stress testing Web 2.0 applications. Find out how to test the performance of Web 2.0 in this white paper.
Build Better Games Online
For the game infrastructure providers, life is complex. Making money from games has become more complicated. Why? Find out in this white paper.
Building a Virtual Infrastructure from Servers to Storage
This white paper discusses the virtual storage solutions that reduce cost, increase storage utilization, and address the challenges of backing up and restoring Server environments.
Gaining Faster Wireless Connections with WiMAX
Welcome to what is quickly becoming the hyperconnected world where anything that would benefit from being connected to the network will be connected. Learn more in this white paper.
Is Your Desktop a Security Threat?
The new wave of sophisticated crimeware not only targets specific companies, but also targets desktops and laptops as backdoor entryways into those business’ operations and resources. Learn how to stay safe in this white paper.
Increasing SAN Reliability by 100 Percent
Storage area networks (SAN) are a strong part of storage plans. Learn how to increase your reliability and uptime by 100 percent in this case study.
|
|
|
|
|
news feed