Congressional economists tackle copyright issues

via CNET News.com: "The Congressional Budget Office released a new study on digital copyright issues Tuesday, outlining economic problems that Congress should keep in mind as it grapples with making new laws. "

David Brooks's Rhetorical Tricks

via The New Republic Online: "WHAT IS DAVID BROOKS TALKING ABOUT?: One of David Brooks's standard tricks--those rhetorical techniques he uses to come across as a lovable moderate--is to indict Republicans and Democrats alike for some political heresy. By bashing both parties, Brooks appears to be above partisanship even while he does the work of the dutiful conservative. "

Bold Beattie ready to take his chance

via Scotsman.com: "The Celtic forward emerged with most credit from his club's North American tour, scoring four times in a series that nourished his club with funds if not always confidence, with three defeats suffered in four matches. Beattie, though, appeared to be energised by the punishing schedule against Premiership outfits crammed with stellar names. "

Reasons to be cheerful despite budgets

via TTelegraph online: "There is a powerful case for arguing that Scottish football is in its worst state in living memory, with the gulf between the Old Firm and the rest showing no signs of being reduced in the foreseeable future, while the Glasgow pair are hamstrung by limited domestic revenues in their attempts to make headway in Europe."

Fans prepare for the opening day ritual of myopic optimism

via Telegraph online: "Across the country, as the new season lurches into first gear, the scene will be the same. Refreshed by three months' abstinence, the supporters of our lower division teams will again be preparing for a nine-month odyssey full of hope.

From Darlington to Torquay, diehard fans in box-fresh replica nylon will unleash their season tickets in the fond expectation that this time it will be different. From Swansea to Colchester, those who put their faith in the vicissitudes of the second rate will be full of enthusiasm for what lies ahead."

For Shame

via The American Conservative: "Anyone who does not feel revulsion against this administration for what it is doing and has done in Iraq and elsewhere has something seriously wrong with his political digestive system."

Straight & Crooked Thinking

From a book by Robert H. Thouless: Thirty-eight dishonest tricks which are commonly used in argument, with the methods of overcoming them.

State AGs warn file-sharing companies

via CNET News.com: A group of 46 state attorneys general sent a deeply critical letter to file-sharing companies Thursday, asking them to take stronger action on privacy and intellectual-property violations.

Californa Supreme Court Upholds Regional Appellation Statute

via law.com: "State Business & Professions Code �25241 requires that wine sold for interstate or foreign commerce can use the word 'Napa' or the valley's viticultural regions, such as Rutherford, only if at least 75 percent of the grapes were grown in those areas.
Bronco, based in Ceres just south of Modesto, argued that state law was pre-empted by federal regulations that permit using the name as long as there is an appellation, such as 'Lodi' or 'Stanislaus County,' that identifies the real origin of the grapes used in the wine. "

Ex Parte Seizure Orders in Trademark Conterfeiting Cases

Plaintiff Bears Heavy Burden to Win Ex Parte Seizure Order in Trademark Violation Case: "Trademark owners battling the trafficking of counterfeit goods won a significant victory in 1991 when the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that luxury leather goods maker Louis Vuitton should have been awarded an ex parte seizure order in its case against a group of street vendors. "

Patent problems pester penguin

via CNET News.com: "The patent system is in crisis--something the former Patent and Trademark Office director himself acknowledged just last year.
The system is supposed to encourage technological innovation. Instead, it rewards those who have the knowledge and resources to work it to their advantage. Although many are beginning to recognize the problem, not enough is being done to fix the broken system--to the detriment of software users. "

Licensing Seminar at Stanford University

via fsf.org: The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is offering two day-long seminars on Free Software licensing and the GNU General Public License in partnership with Stanford Law School on August 24 and 25, 2004.

McKinsey Report: Exploding The Myths Of Offshoring

via Forbes.com: "By raising productivity, offshoring enables companies to invest more in the next-generation technologies and business ideas that create new jobs. And with the world's most flexible and innovative economy, the United States is uniquely positioned to benefit from the trend. After all, despite a large overall trade deficit, the country has consistently run a surplus in its international trade in services. "

SCO's 'Smoking Gun' Versus IBM?

via Forbes.com: "In private interviews during their annual user conference in Las Vegas this week, SCO executives said they have discovered that IBM lacks proper licenses for its Unix-based AIX operating system, heart of a multibillion-dollar business for IBM.

SCO alleges that since 2001, AIX has contained code for which IBM does not have a license. Moreover SCO claims to have found internal IBM e-mails in which IBMers acknowledge this shortcoming. "

Open Source Against Software Patents

via AlwaysOn.com: "Software patents stifle the innovation that the open source movement has helped foster by taking power away from the individual inventor and putting it into the hands of a few large or specialized companies that have the most patents and the most lawyers. "

The Geico Keyword Case Against Google

Public Citizen Files Amicus Brief.

Trade deal exports DMCA down under

via CNET News.com: "Australia will be required to adopt U.S. intellectual-property rules, including laws covering the 'circumvention' of copy protection, and software patents that have alarmed advocates of open-source software, according to a trade agreement that President Bush signed on Tuesday. "

At LinuxWorld: Solaris shift, copyright rift

via CNET News.com: "At the LinuxWorld show in San Francisco, everyone wants a piece of the open-source action. Sun, for instance, is linking its Solaris software with Linux, while HP loads Linux onto a laptop. "

SCO: No plans for new lawsuits

via CNET News.com: "'Our strategy right now is to focus all of our legal resources on the current litigation with IBM, Novell and AutoZone,' Stowell said in an e-mail. 'The outcome of these cases will set a precedent for how we will proceed with any future litigation.'"

Federal court broadens DMCA safe harbors

via CNET News.com: In a 56-page order handed down June 22, U.S. District Court Judge Lourdes Baird muddied the already troubled waters of determining what Internet businesses qualify for the "safe harbor" provisions of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Best of the Web

Forbes.com Best of the Web

Linux Scare Tactics

via Forbes.com: "It used to be that enemies of Linux were the ones spreading 'fear, uncertainty and doubt' about the free operating system. Now the F.U.D. comes from Linux zealots themselves, who believe they have found a way to make money on it. "

Summer Reading for Smart Leaders

via Fast Company: "Skip the business books when you head for the beach, and try novels that teach leadership, purpose, and ambition."

John Kerry's real tech agenda

via CNET News.com: A careful review of Kerry's history in the Senate shows that his record on technology is mixed.

LinuxWorld's San Francisco shindig

via CNET News.com. As the LinuxWorld show kicks off in San Francisco, everyone wants a piece of the open-source action.

Life 2.0

via Forbes.com: "In Life 2.0 you'll meet real folks who are living larger lives in smaller places right now--people who have found a fulfilling Second Act for their lives. I met them during personal visits over past two years, when I set out in a small airplane to fly around the country and have a look at how Americans were coping with major structural changes in the economy. During this journey I met countless ordinary folks doing stunning, creative things with their work and lives in places you'd least expect. "

No Matter What You Call It, the Inducing Infringement of Copyright Act Spells Trouble

Fred Wilhelms Commentary via Streamingmedia.com: What the bill boils down to is giving copyright holders a virtual veto power over any technological development that could possibly be used to distribute copyrighted material. It gives them this power by establishing contributory liability under copyright law for anyone who creates, develops, implements, or distributes technology (hardware or software) that is capable of disseminating copyrighted material without compensation to the copyright holders.

German Court OKs Use of GPL

via GROKLAW: "[A] court in Germany has just confirmed the earlier preliminary injunction in the netfilter/iptables case -- the GPL is valid in Germany. "

Senator wants to ban P2P networks

via CNET News.com: "Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he intended to move ahead with the highly controversial Induce Act despite objections from dozens of Internet providers and Silicon Valley manufacturers. The Induce Act says 'whoever intentionally induces any violation' of copyright law would be legally liable for those violations. "

Antipiracy bill gains new ally

via CNET News.com: "In a move that's alarming technology firms, the U.S. Copyright Office is about to endorse new legislation that would outlaw peer-to-peer networks and possibly some consumer electronics devices that could be used for copyright piracy. "

The Parody Not in the Logo

via Tech Law Advisor: "Hit & Run and BoingBoing are abusing Miller Brewing for protecting its copyright and trademark in the Miller logo from an L.A. based manufacturer of 'It's Mullet Time' t-shirts. Granted the t-shirts (posted on BoingBoing) are cool, but I believe this example is similar to the OJ/Cat in the Hat parody and not one worth fighting over."

Obcenity and Community Standards Lawsuit

via Infothought: "EFF Deep Links has an article 'Will Obscenity Ruling Break Online Anonymity?' about the Nitke vs. Ashcroft case regarding obscenity law, and 'community standards' applied to the Internet."

Playmakers LLC v. ESPN

via The Trademark Blog: "Ninth Circuit affirms denial of preliminary injunction sought by sports agency with registration for PLAYMAKERS, against ESPN's use of PLAYMAKERS for dramatic series on sports. Court relied on weakness of mark, differences in services, differences in channels of trade and sophistication of clients selecting sports agency services."

TiVo's plans lead to copyright fight

via MSNBC: "Hollywood studios and the National Football League are seeking to block the maker of the popular TiVo television recorder from expanding its service so that users could watch copies of shows and movies on devices outside their homes."
The slashdot  discussion on this.

Open Arms for Open-Source News

via Wired News:: "Following in the footsteps of past community journalism projects that sought to give individuals a voice in local news, as well as the growing trend in news-like blogs, The Northwest Voice is giving residents of Bakersfield's northwest neighborhoods near-total control of content. An editor is on hand largely to ensure that articles, letters and photographs submitted through the publication's Web-based content-management system adhere to a minimal set of standards, and to choose the best submissions for inclusion in the print edition. "

Copyright Bill to Kill Tech?

via Wired News:: "The Senate Judiciary Committee will consider a bill Thursday that would hold technology companies liable for any product they make that encourages people to steal copyright materials."

Not Closing GPL 'Loopholes'

via LawMeme: "Clever ways to skirt the GPL have become a hot topic. The community is discussing whether a developer can revoke a customer's support subscription when the customer redistributes GPLed software. I have little to add to that debate, but I've drafted a paper suggesting one way the GPL could be modified to close this kind of loophole. The paper is entitled Collateral Restrictions and the GPL."

SCO DaimlerChrysler Unix Lawsuit Dismissal

via CNET News.com: "SCO had alleged DaimlerChrysler violated the Unix software agreement by refusing to certify it was in compliance with the contract. DaimlerChrysler was required to certify it was using the Unix software only on specific computer processors, according to the contract.
When SCO sued, DaimlerChrysler hadn't certified that it was in compliance with the agreement, but it had done so by the time it responded in April--saying it had completely stopped using the Unix software years earlier. "

HP feared MS open source patent offensive

via The Register: "A senior executive at Hewlett Packard two years ago expressed fears that Microsoft would use its patent portfolio to close down the company's open source efforts. The concerns were expressed in a June 2002 memo by Gary Campbell, and HP confirmed their authenticity to Newsforge's Joe Barr."

Microsoft pays to end Lindows suits

via CNET News.com: "Microsoft will pay upstart Linux seller Lindows $20 million to settle a long-running trademark dispute, according to a regulatory document filed Monday."

Markman in Acacia Patent Case

via Forbes.com: "In a preliminary ruling last week known as a Markman Order, the California federal judge overseeing several of Acacia's patent-infringement cases agreed that while seven of the underlying definitions that form the basis of the company's patent claims were likely valid, 12 other terms or phrases were debatable. "

Tough road for patent-busters

via CNN.com, Jul 16, 2004: Only 614 of the nearly 7 million existing patents have been revoked, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Some 3,927 patents have been narrowed since the agency began conducting re-examinations in 1981.

Should Linking Be Immune From Lawsuits?

article via FindLaw

also, via Wired. "Gawker Media's sex-centric blog Fleshbot is considering permanently removing a hyperlink to a website selling a video in which actress Cameron Diaz is seen topless. The possible move comes after the star's attorneys sent the leading blogging outfit a cease and desist letter last week

The First Sale Doctrine in the Era of Digital Networks by R. Reese

via SSRN

The Political Economy of Intellectual Property Law

via American Enterprise InstittueThis monograph seeks to explain the expansion of intellectual property law over the last half century, focusing in particular on the rapid growth that began with the 1976 Copyright Act. In so doing, it explores a fundamental, unresolved issue in the theory of regulation: why some kinds of regulation have increased dramatically over this period while others have virtually disappeared.

Role Playing Helps Associates Improve 'Sociability,' Marketing

via New York Lawyer

$15m For Using Hockey Player's Name in Comic

via St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Tony Twist, the former rock 'em-sock 'em Blues hockey player, was awarded $15 million Friday by a jury that concluded comic book artist Todd McFarlane had profited by using Twist's name without his permission.
In a case that could have broad meaning for artistic freedom, McFarlane insisted the name had literary value and his use of it was protected under the First Amendment, but Twist contended McFarlane had exceeded free speech rights.

StorageTek wins copyright injunction

via CNET News.com A federal judge in Massachusetts has granted a preliminary injunction against a consulting firm that allegedly violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act when performing maintenance on StorageTek tape backup systems.

Bill Gates on Open Source

via Asia Computer Weekly: "In muted tones, Microsoft’s chairman warned governments and companies that open source software is not the way to go if they are in the business of creating jobs and intellectual property."

The Boies Firm

via law.com: When David Boies left Cravath, Swaine & Moore in May of 1997 to start his own law firm, he had a simple idea. He wanted to practice a sophisticated brand of law in a small, bureaucracy-free setting. "I'm not by nature somebody who loves to spend time involved in administration," he says.

Fast Company | Fight to Survive

Fast Company | Fight to Survive Tough-minded advice for tough times: how to get by on (a lot) less. The ultimate guide to living off the land, keeping your priorities straight, and not losing hope. Courtesy of the U.S. Army Special Forces. After you've read about how to "Fight to Survive" in this issue of the magazine, read "The Ultimate Survivor", a Web-only companion profile of First Lieutenant James "Nick" Row.

Software piracy losses double

via CNET News.com: "About 36 percent of software installations worldwide are pirated copies, the study by trade group Business Software Alliance and market researcher IDC showed. In dollar terms, the losses were greatest in Western Europe, where piracy cut revenue by $9.6 billion in 2003, followed by Asia and North America. "

Wired News: A Lively Open-Source Debate

Wired News: A Lively Open-Source Debate

EFF: The Patent Busting Project

link: Now some patent holders have begun to set their sights on the new class of technology users–small organizations and individuals who cannot afford to retain lawyers. Faced with million-dollar legal demands, they have no choice but to capitulate and pay license fees – fees that often fund more threat letters and lawsuits. And because these patents have become cheaper and easier to obtain, the patentee’s costs can be spread out quickly amongst the many new defendants. Our patent system has historically relied on the resources of major corporate players to defeat bad patents; now it leaves these new defendants with few if any options to defend themselves.

Business Method Patents Forum

via Economic Review, Vol. 88, Fourth Quarter 2003. The Atlanta Fed’s 2003 Financial Markets Conference focused on the emergence and legitimization of “business method” patents in the United States and how this development affects financial services innovation and the future of financial services firms.

Hate corrodes

Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true.

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)

The Linux Killer

via Wired, Issue 12.07, July 2004: "But if SCO and its star litigator succeed, what then for Linux? The open source community will adapt. Linux programmers will replace the copyrighted code with their own new versions and continue their assault on proprietary software."

SCO and the Battle Over UNIX: A Clear Explanation

via Informit: "This article summarizes the events associated with the battle over UNIX. First, we discuss the chain of title to the UNIX code. Second, we summarize the various litigations and the software community's response to SCO's efforts. Finally, we point out some lessons that might be learned from these battles."

VCs Size Up Open Source Challenges and Opportunities

via IT Manager's Journal. "So what kind of action should a software industry VC take? It's not an easy question, but one that needs attention if for no other reason than to protect an existing proprietary software portfolio. There seem to be two camps: those that see the potential for open source, and those that doubt it or believe it is too soon. "

Tech-heavy coalition supports fair-use legislation

via InfoWorld, June 22, 2004:
WASHINGTON - A group of technology vendors, consumer rights groups and Internet service providers (ISPs) have banded together to support 18-month-old U.S. House legislation that would allow consumers to make personal copies of copyrighted digital products, including movies and music.

New Compulsory License Rules

via Copyright Office. Starting July 22, 2004, the U.S. Copyright Office is amending its regulations governing the content and service of certain notices that are served or filed by persons who intend to use a musical work to make and distribute phonorecords under the compulsory license provisions of 17 USC 115.

Lone Star Justice - Alberto Gonzales' strange views of international law.

via Slate, Alan Berlow, June 15, 2004: "On June 16, 1997, Gonzales first showcased his proclivity for torturing international law when he sent a letter to the U.S. State Department in which he argued that, 'Since the State of Texas is not a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, we believe it is inappropriate to ask Texas to determine whether a breach � occurred in connection with the arrest and conviction' of a Mexican national. Or, put another way, he asserted that an international treaty just didn't apply to Texas."

DOJ Memorandum re Interrogation

via Washington Post. Prepared for Alberto Gonzalez, August 1, 2002.

Novell Avoids Remand in SCO Lawsuit

via GROKLAW: "The big news is that SCO lost its fight to get the case sent back to state court. SCO's entire theory of the case as a contract issue only went out the window, and they are now squarely in a pure copyright fight, which is the last thing they wanted. They will now have to prove that they own the copyright they are using to threaten end users like AutoZone."

Bush's Other War

via MSNBC, Patti Davis, May 14, 2004: "There is a possible cure waiting in the wings for people with juvenile diabetes, Alzheimer's, ALS, Parkinson's, heart disease, cancer, as well as spinal-cord injuries. It's called stem-cell research. At the moment things are stalled at research, just short of moving forward to applying the technology and changing millions of lives. Why? The White House has said it will not release federal funds for embryonic stem-cell research."

Open Source and Biotech Research

via Economist.com: "Medicine: The open-source model is a good way to produce software, as the example of Linux shows. Could the same collaborative approach now revitalise medical research too?"

Legalizing Torture

via Editorial, Washington Post, June 8, 2004.

There is no justification, legal or moral, for the judgments made by Mr. Bush's political appointees at the Justice and Defense departments. Theirs is the logic of criminal regimes, of dictatorships around the world that sanction torture on grounds of "national security." For decades the U.S. government has waged diplomatic campaigns against such outlaw governments -- from the military juntas in Argentina and Chile to the current autocracies in Islamic countries such as Algeria and Uzbekistan -- that claim torture is justified when used to combat terrorism. The news that serving U.S. officials have officially endorsed principles once advanced by Augusto Pinochet brings shame on American democracy -- even if it is true, as the administration maintains, that its theories have not been put into practice. Even on paper, the administration's reasoning will provide a ready excuse for dictators, especially those allied with the Bush administration, to go on torturing and killing detainees.

Perhaps the president's lawyers have no interest in the global impact of their policies -- but they should be concerned about the treatment of American servicemen and civilians in foreign countries. Before the Bush administration took office, the Army's interrogation procedures -- which were unclassified -- established this simple and sensible test: No technique should be used that, if used by an enemy on an American, would be regarded as a violation of U.S. or international law. Now, imagine that a hostile government were to force an American to take drugs or endure severe mental stress that fell just short of producing irreversible damage; or pain a little milder than that of "organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death." What if the foreign interrogator of an American "knows that severe pain will result from his actions" but proceeds because causing such pain is not his main objective? What if a foreign leader were to decide that the torture of an American was needed to protect his country's security? Would Americans regard that as legal, or morally acceptable? According to the Bush administration, they should.

Justifying Torture

Cooking Up Excuses With The Pentagon, Phillip Carter, June 10, 2004, via Slate.

However, no amount of caveating can save the latest Defense Department memorandum on the legality of torture (first reported by the Wall Street Journal) from being construed as what it is: a cookbook on how to conduct illegal torture and get away with it.

Apologia Por Tormento, David Froomkin, via discourse.net

If anyone in the higher levels of government acted in reliance on this advice, those persons should be impeached. If they authorized torture, it may be that they have committed, and should be tried for, war crimes. And, as we learned at Nuremberg, “I was just following orders” is NOT (and should not be) a defense.

Who wrote Linux?

Who wrote Linux? I did! No, Harry did! Or was it the monkey?: "Now that there's money to be made from Linux, creators of the Linux kernel's code are showing up faster than long-lost relatives at a billionaire's funeral. First, SCO said that a bunch of Linux code belongs to them. Now, some folks are saying that Linus Torvalds stole Minix code to create Linux, and Linux really belongs to the Prentice Hall publishing house which now owns Minix. "

OAMI-ONLINE - Madrid Protocol

OAMI-ONLINE - Madrid Protocol: "The Madrid Protocol is an essential instrument in trade mark protection around the world. It is an international registration system administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO - http://www.wipo.org/)"

Wired 12.06: The Free & The Unfree

Wired offers an atlas of the intellectual property world.

A Time to Weep

Ted Sorenson, New School Commencement.

This is not a speech. Two weeks ago I set aside the speech I prepared. This is a cry from the heart, a lamentation for the loss of this country's goodness and therefore its greatness.
Future historians studying the decline and fall of America will mark this as the time the tide began to turn -- toward a mean-spirited mediocrity in place of a noble beacon.
For me the final blow was American guards laughing over the naked, helpless bodies of abused prisoners in Iraq. 'There is a time to laugh,' the Bible tells us, 'and a time to weep.' Today I weep for the country I love, the country I proudly served, the country to which my four grandparents sailed over a century ago with hopes for a new land of peace and freedom. I cannot remain silent when that country is in the deepest trouble of my lifetime.

via Salon

The Pope, Scalia and Evangelium Vitae: National Catholic Register Death Penalty Symposium

An Editorial (Feb. 2002)

Scalia spoke twice recently about his support for the death penalty - once at the University of Chicago Divinity School and once at Georgetown University.
Unfortunately, his remarks will do more harm than good. He said that, since the Pope's teaching on capital punishment in Evangelium Vitae did not come ex cathedra, i.e., with formal infallibility, he is not obligated as a Catholic to accept it, only to give it 'serious consideration.'

Prof. Charles Rice, Notre Dame Law School.

A Catholic can no longer argue for the use of the death penalty on grounds of retribution, deterrence of others from committing crimes or for any other reason unless the execution is 'the only possible way' of protecting others from this criminal. The decision as to whether it is 'the only possible way' depends, of course, on a prudential judgment. John Paul was correct in saying that, 'Today� the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically non-existent' (Evangelium Vitae No. 56).

Bitterman: Scalia's Rejoinder.

I protest your portrayal of me as 'supporting the death penalty.' I do no such thing. I support the proposition that it is not sinful for a Catholic to support it, and indeed to participate in its imposition.

Cardinal Dulles.

Following the Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 2109), I interpret the defense of society as including not only physical defense against the criminal but also the vindication of the moral order. This interpretation agrees with the principle that the primary purpose of the punishment that society inflicts is "to redress the disorder caused by the offense" (Evangelium Vitae, No. 56).

Information Cannot Be Owned

Jean Nicolas Druey has published a study of why information can not be owned. The information age has, according to Druey, "badly served its idol". Legal rights on information can not take the form of ownership, while communication by its very nature is free.
via GrepLaw

Open Source Call to Arms

Copyright and trade secret laws present risks that we must manage--but software patents are easily the largest future risk to open source.

Bruce Parens via CNET

Productivity Tips

Legal Coach Ed Poll has five productivity tips on his Coach to Lawyers Weblog from a presentation he attended by Nido Qubein.
via the [non]billable hour

Intro to Patent Law Video Online

A few years ago, the Federal Judicial Center (FJC) created a video providing an introduction to patent law for judges and juries. The video is available here (Windows Media, Quick Time), and provides a very good (although general) introduction to patents and the patent office. I would recommend that anyone coming to work in a patent firm should watch this video as part of new employee orientation.
via Patently Obvious

Insurance for Linux

Interview with Daniel Egger of Open Source Risk Management

When a start-up firm called OSRM (Open Source Risk Management) announced two months ago that it planned to offer standard product liability insurance to Linux users and developers, many in the Linux community wondered why. For some, such coverage appeared to be an unwarranted admission that there was something wrong with Linux. Sure, vendor specific indemnification of users was appearing, but IBM itself, the first target for SCO's absurd legal claims, denied the need. As recently as the last LinuxWorld Conference and Expo, IBM's Jim Stallings, general manager for Linux at Big Blue, was quoted as saying, "The claims that have been alleged [by SCO] against IBM [have] no basis, so indemnification is not needed." NewsForge recently interviewed OSRM's founder and CEO, Daniel Egger, to gain his perspective on the issue.

via NewsForge

Free Software and the Innovator's Dilemma

If you wanted to assemble a 'must read' list for any business person looking at the Linux/Free Software industry, what would you include? Certainly 'Open Sources' from O'Reilly, is the most obvious answer, probably followed by Bob Young's 'Under the Radar,' which details the story of Red Hat's rise.
But I would argue that a third book belong in the top tier of that list as well: 'The Innovator's Dilemma,' written by Clayton Christensen and published by Harvard Business School Press.

via OS Opinion

GPL and Viral Infection Commentary

The GPL contains 'constraints against constraints.' For example, section two of the GPL allows for modifications and distribution of a GPL-licensed work if the licensee causes any work to be licensed as a whole at no charge to all third parties under the terms of the GPL. This is often problematic for companies that need to distribute their products using a license that is not consistent with the GPL.

via Linux News

A Model for Open Source Software Development

A pediatric oncologist argues that a working model for open source already exists in at least one other field, biomedical research, and that this model has been proven to be of great benefit to society.
via NewsForge

GROKLAW announces grokline.net:

I am happy to tell you that we have Grokline 0.1, so to speak, up at www.grokline.net. We are ready for you to start to help by contributing what you know about UNIX to our UNIX ownership living history project.

We hope with this Grokline project to be able to identify any conceivable legal issues that those wishing to block, slow, hobble or tax GNU/Linux may try to use in future legal assaults on the community. If there are litigation risks, even just from nuisance lawsuits, particularly with respect to patents, we want to find those risks, hopefully before they do, and mitigate or resolve them now. I am personally convinced, as you no doubt are too, that the next wave of attacks on GNU/Linux and the GPL will involve patents.

Ex Ante Versus Ex Post Justifications for Intellectual Property by Mark Lemley (UC Berkeley Public Law Research Paper No. 144): "In this paper, I explore the sub rosa development of this ex post theory of IP. I argue that the basis for continued control is the assumption that the value of IP rights will be dissipated if they are used too much. This argument is fundamentally at odds with the public goods nature of information. It stems from a particular sort of myopia about private ordering, in which actions by individual private firms are presumed to be ideal and the traditional role of the market in disciplining errant firms is ignored. "

More than 30 articles on the CAN-SPAM Act have now been added to GigaLaw.com's CAN-SPAM Library at http://www.CANSPAMLibrary.com (click on "Articles"). The list includes law review, law journal and law firm articles, ranging from 2 to 38 pages.

CA Moves with New Open-Source Licensing for Content, Database Projects

IBM asks for quick rejection of SCO claims | CNET News.com: "In a motion for summary judgment filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, IBM argues that SCO has produced no evidence to back up its copyright claims and is unlikely to do so. As a result, IBM states, the copyright claims should be dumped from the case. "

The Seattle Times: Business & Technology: Linux switch is becoming easier option: "These days, a reasonably astute computer user can have a fully functional Linux system, capable of handling typical home-computing needs, up and running in an afternoon or less. It's even possible to buy a competitively priced PC with Linux pre-installed. "

SCO's subpoena for documents to Free Software Foundation. FSF objects as overbroad and invading atty-client privilege.

Open-source companies see profit aplenty | CNET News.com: "SAN FRANCISCO--It's easy to make money giving away software--just don't give away too much of it.
That was the upshot from a group of open-source software executives at the Software and Information Industry Association's Enterprise Software Summit, with panelists saying there's plenty of room for profit in Linux and its siblings. "

EU votes through software patent changes - ZDNet UK News: "The European Council on Wednesday voted through controversial changes to the European Union's Software Patents Directive that will pave the way for widespread patenting of software in Europe."

Geico sues Google, Overture over trademarks | CNET News.com: "Auto insurance company Geico has sued Google and Overture Services for allegedly violating its trademarks in search-related advertisements, in the latest legal salvo against the Internet companies. "

ESPN Scraping for Minor League Scores? "LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sports score Web operator Sportsnetwork.com sued Walt Disney Co's ESPN on Monday, claiming its bigger competitor was stealing minor league baseball scores for its own site and refused to stop. "

American Airlines scraping case from a year ago. The Trademark Blog

IT Manager's Journal | Seven open source business strategies for competitive advantage

Copyright's Communications Policy. By Timothy Wu, UVa Law School professor.

Linux News: Commentary: Practical Open Source Corporate Policies: "Legal liability around the use of open source is a complex issue, where interpretations and rules are constantly shifting. That's why some legal advisors recommend not using open-source software at all. Others recommend that organizations limit the use of software to that which has no downstream constraints. "

"Too often, we think of our jobs and our careers as being the same thing. They're not. Jobs are given and jobs are taken away -- often by forces you can't control. But your career belongs to you. You get to decide everything about it: where you go, what you do, whom you work with. Don't hesitate to spend real time -- six months, a year -- figuring out your career trajectory. It's the best investment you'll ever make." Fast Company | careers - Eunice Azzani

"Most open source is imitation," Carey says. "Linux is an imitation of an operating system. If these [Linux] companies are going to create a price point that is significant enough that they are approaching the same pricing model as the innovation premium, why pay a premium for imitation when I can pay a premium and get innovation?"

via Forbes.

Forbes article re Red Hat.

Red Hat's mission is more daunting than boring: It is trying to prove that a profitable business can be built around free, open-source software. The stuff is proliferating wildly on corporate servers, thanks to low cost of entry and its ability to undergo change more easily than Microsoft Windows or any of the flavors of Unix sold by IBM, Sun Microsystems or Hewlett-Packard. According to Netcraft.com, 67% of Web servers run on the open-source program Apache. Gartner says 80% of its clients with more than 500 PCs use Linux in some form. It powers Amazon.com, Google and the trading platform of Morgan Stanley.

But the rise of Linux threatens to introduce brutal commodity economics to an industry accustomed to fat margins and customer lock-in. Any programmer can see and legitimately copy the building blocks that make the software work. All that's left for vendors is to compete on price and service. Analysts expect Red Hat's prices to drop up to 20% a year. Another obstacle is new uncertainty over who, if anyone, owns Linux. Utah-based SCO Group has sued IBM, AutoZone and DaimlerChrysler for using Linux in violation of SCO's patents on the related Unix operating system. In response, Red Hat sued SCO and told customers that any offending code will be replaced.

Media Training. Forbes.com - Magazine Article