Open Source Software Law

by Dixon, Rod

• ISBN13: 9781580537193
• ISBN10: 1580537197
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-12-01
• Publisher: Artech House

Summary

This unique and comprehensive resource provides you with a broad introduction to the area of software licensing in the information age. The book helps you to understand the basic philosophy and key issues of open source software development and offers expert guidance on how to draft an open source license. Drawing on the author's legal and technical background, this invaluable reference explains the legal framework that has been developed to support the increasingly popular internet-based open source and free software community.

Author Biography

Rod Dixon is a senior attorney-advisor, U.S. Department of Education, and a visiting assistant professor of law, Rutgers University Law School (at Camden, New Jersey).

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Conventions Used in This Book	xiii
Acknowledgments	xv
1 Open Source Software	1	(16)
Open Source Means Free	1	(3)
Classifications of Software Distribution	4	(5)
OSD	9	(4)
Endnotes	13	(1)
The Open Source Definition-Appendix 1A	14	(1)
The Current Open Source Definition (OSD)	14	(3)
2 Free Software and the GNU GPL	17	(24)
Licensing To Meet Philosophical Objectives	20	(2)
Copyright and Copyleft	22	(3)
Code Forking	25	(1)
What Is Free Software?	26	(1)
What Is Free About Free Software?	27	(12)
Endnotes	39	(2)
3 Drafting Open Source licenses	41	(32)
BSD License	43	(2)
BSD License Template	45	(3)
Restricting Commercial Uses	48	(2)
AFPL	50	(3)
Contract Formation Issues	53	(3)
Use Restrictions and Commercial Organizations	56	(1)
Artistic License	57	(4)
Commercial Open Source Ventures	61	(9)
Endnotes	70	(3)
4 About Protecting Property	73	(10)
Copyright as Property	73	(1)
Methods of Propertizing Copyright	74	(1)
Setting Criminal Penalties for Theft of Copyright	74	(1)
The Impact of the Internet on Conceptions of Copyright	75	(1)
Software and the Public Domain	76	(1)
When Source Code Lacks Originality	77	(4)
Endnote	81	(2)
5 Electronic Contract Formation	83	(24)
Electronic Transactions	83	(7)
E-Sign	90	(2)
UETA	92	(2)
UCITA	94	(7)
Warranties and "As Is" Licensing	101	(2)
Limitations on Liability	103	(1)
Choice of Law Provisions	104	(1)
Endnotes	105	(2)
6 Commercial Models	107	(12)
Open Commercial Uses	107	(3)
The jabber Open Source License Template	110	(4)
The Open Software License	114	(2)
Documentation Licenses	116	(2)
Endnotes	118	(1)
7 Open Standards and Public Policy	119	(6)
Open Standards	119	(2)
Public Policy	121	(2)
Endnotes	123	(2)
8 Rolling Your Own Open Source license	125	(6)
Selecting a License Template	125	(3)
Software Licensing Law and Policy	128	(2)
Open Source Benefits Are Free	130	(1)
Appendix: Selected Open Source License Templates and Copyright Law Provisions	131	(1)
Using the Hyperlinked RTF Documents	131	(86)
About the Author	217	(62)
Index	279