The osl is a copyleft license, with a termination clause triggered by filing a lawsuit alleging patent infringement. Implementing open standards in open source page 4 csiac. Confusion about the term freedom was the very reason the term open source was created. Explains how to choose a license for an open source software, and how the chosen license affects developers, managers, lawyers and business. Interview with lawrence rosen, author of the open software. Programmers write source code to direct computers to perform specific tasks, while the computer itself takes care of the routine task of translating.
For someone who was motivated to write his own set of software licenses, rosen is generous to the industrystandard gnu general public license gpl. It is not yet known whether the owf provisions for patent licensing will overcome the resistance to change for ip policies in standards organizations in order to make both. Open source initiative general counsel lawrence rosen presents a plainenglish guide to open source law for developers, managers, users, and lawyers. Software freedom and intellectual property law by lawrence rosen. Rosen will deliver a prepared talk approximately one hour in length.
Open source licenses by lawrence rosen open source licenses. Developing a new open source license van lindberg 1, 2 announces that he is drafting a new open source license for holo ltd. The open source initiative osi has certified it as an opensource license. He describes reasonable steps we can take to prevent patents from interfering with. Attorney and computer specialist lawrence rosen is the author of the licenses used by prestashop. Open source licensingsoftware freedom and intellectual property law. The license will be agplish but have an option for an lgplclasspath style exception. This promise of reasonable and nondiscriminatory licensing terms is often made but not usually put into explicit words. Legal issues in open source today from annual symposium. May 05, 2016 open source is written into the very dna of prestashop. Law seminars international open source software workshop. Rosen thinks that creating open source software or receiving attribution is its own reward. Now that open source software is blossoming around the world, it is crucial to understand how open source licenses workand their solid legal foundations. Open source licenses by lawrence rosen open source.
He describes reasonable steps we can take to prevent patents from. Software freedom and intellectual property law by lawrence rosen prentice. Open source licensing has received a great deal of attention of late, in the popular press and in the courtroom. Lawrence rosen open source appears challenged by patents but that fear is often exaggerated. Implementing open standards in open source page 3 csiac. Making your code available under an open source licence. The osl is a copyleft license, with a termination clause triggered by filing a lawsuit alleging patent infringement many people in the free. Feb 03, 2005 rosen, who is a founding partner of a technology law firm that specializes in intellectual property protection and licensing and who authored a book titled open source licensing. Note also that rosen admits this is his professional opinion and it is very well argued.
Lawrence rosen 3001 king ranch road, ukiah, ca 95482 7074851242 michael b. Introduction licensing law is extremely diverse, complex, and with its fair share of abstract zones. Please support the books author and publisher by buying a print copy. Lawrence rosen, quoted above, describes the new qnx hybrid licensing model which is intended to meet the needs of embedded systems developers within the qnx ecosystem. So how do you choose the most sensible an open source. Find open source licenses and copyleft licensing to build a free, digital revolution. He is also corporate secretary and general counsel for the open source initiative, which manages and promotes the open source definition. Larrys law firm specializes in intellectual property, licensing and business transactions for technology companies. Open source stack exchange is a question and answer site for people organizing, marketing or licensing open source development projects. Open source licensing software freedom and intellectual property law. The granting clause and intellectual property rights. He is also the executive director and general counsel of the open source initiative. Open source licensing by lawrence rosen waterstones.
Rosen clearly explains the intellectual property laws that support open source licensing. Major players roll up sleeves to solve open source. Academic free license afl, by lawrence rosen, version 2. Open source is written into the very dna of prestashop. Open source initiative general counsel lawrence rosen presents a plain english guide to open source law for developers, managers, users, and lawyers. Laurent, understanding open source and free software licensing, oreilly 2004 and of course the very book you are reading now. A history of foss law and licensing the international free. The granting clause is tasked with navigating this confusing and polemic landscape. Understanding open source software by red hats mark webbink, esq.
Lawrence rosen author of open source licensing lawrence rosen is the cromwell professor of anthropology at princeton university and adjunct professor of law at columbia law school and a 2005 carnegie. Lawrence rosen lawrence is an attorney with in redwood city, california. I have studied rosen s book in detail and am impressed with i. There isnt one answer for all open source projects, according to lawrence rosen, the founding partner of rosenlaw and einschlag, general counsel for osi and author of a new book open. This book was published by prentice hall in july 2004. Programmers write source code to direct computers to perform specific tasks, while the computer itself takes care of the routine task of translating the source code into an. Major players roll up sleeves to solve open source licensing. The most important chapter from rosen s book for this answer is chapter 6, which argues that the gpl can apply copyleft to derivative works based on a gpld work, but not to collective works that include a gpld work. Lawrence rosen is the cromwell professor of anthropology at princeton university and adjunct professor of law at columbia law school and a 2005 carnegie. Software freedom and intellectual property law now with oreilly online learning. Lawrence rosen insists that considerations should not be confused with conditions. A history of foss law and licensing the international.
Baker is also on the board of open bar, a notforprofit organization focused on legal rights and responsibilities in the world of open source and free software. An opensource license is a type of license for computer software and other products that. The newer term refers to an important concept well understood by anyone who has ever written computer software. Publication date 20040722 topics intellectual property. Interview with lawrence rosen, author of the open software license. Software freedom and intellectual property law, seemed daunted by the proliferating licenses problem despite his credentials. Lawrence e rosen covers the legal implications of open source and free software licensing and the intellectual property laws that support open source licensing. Rosen reminds that open source is more than the gpl. Rosen, who is a founding partner of a technology law firm that specializes in intellectual property protection and licensing and who authored a book titled open source licensing.
Rosen also introduces his new licenses, the open software license and academic free license, which he says fix yetunexploited legal bugs in older licenses. Shared source, eventual source, and other licensing models ch. The santa clara high tech law journal held their annual symposium on open source in the legal field at santa clara university. Major players roll up sleeves to solve open source licensing problems. Lawrence rosen is both an attorney and a computer specialist. All types of information relating to open source licensing, open source agreements, the open source community, open source ideas, and other copyleft causes. Lawrence rosen, technology attorney and author of open source licensing. There is no procedure in the older gpls that allowed a licensee to correct his mistakes, said lawrence rosen. Software freedom and intellectual property law prentice hall, 2004, offers a calming view of the patent situation. An online version of lawrence rosens book open source licensing. Technology attorney lawrence rosen offers a manageable introduction to the subject in this book. I strongly recommend it to anybody interested in the current controversies surrounding open source licensing. Open source licenses, copyleft documents, and antiintellectual property organizing. Software freedom and intellectual property law isbn 01487876.
Prominent practitioners in the open source community spoke on topics ranging from licensing and compliance to healthcare and entertainment law. December 2018 licensediscuss list summary open source. Second, the session will be opened to questions from the audience. Lawrence rosen is the cromwell professor of anthropology at princeton university and adjunct professor of law at columbia law school and a 2005 carnegie scholar. Open source licensing gives you the background to get the most out of your meetings with a lawyer about the license. Software freedom and intellectual property law as want to read. Making your code available under an open source licence by ross gardler, elizabeth tatham, amir nettler is licensed under a creative commons attributionsharealike 4.
Lawrence rosen is the cromwell professor of anthropology at princeton university and adjunct professor of law at columbia law school and. January 2019 licensediscuss summary open source initiative. Attorney and computer specialist lawrence rosen is the author. The open source initiative osi has certified it as an opensource license, but the debian project judged version 1. While this model does not meet the requirements of the open source definition, its goals and processes will be familiar to anyone involved in open source. The open source initiative osi has certified it as an open source license, but the debian project judged version 1. Open source licensing software freedom and intellectual property. Software freedom and intellectual property law, was published by prentice hall in 2004. Rosen claims that no open source licenses require considerations but that the osi accepts some license conditions e. Software freedom and intellectual property law lawrence rosen on. The granting clause and intellectual property rights management in opensource software licensing vikrant narayan vasudeva. Many other licenses are being proposed because the gpl doesnt fulfil those licensors motivations. I have studied rosens book in detail and am impressed with its scope and content. For example, lawrence rosen repeatedly suggests his osl 3.
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