Linux News: Licensing

The Web's Next Layer of Innovation: Q&A With Creative Commons CEO Joi Ito
January 15, 2010

Web surfers, whether hardcore business professionals or amateur Web site creators, frequently find images online either through search engines or Web page browsing. However, in most cases, these images are not free to use. Maybe the photographer who created the image would be open to selling rights for a small fee; perhaps he or she only wants attribution but no pay.

Oracle Crosses Its Heart and Hopes to Buy
December 14, 2009

Oracle has pledged it will not assert copyright claims over MySQL and that it will extend terms and conditions of existing commercial licenses of the database for five years in the hope that the European Commission will approve its $7.4 billion pending acquisition of Sun Microsystems.

Microsoft FOSSifies .Net Micro Framework
November 18, 2009

The latest version of Microsoft's .Net Micro framework is now in the hands of the FOSS community. Microsoft announced at its Professional Developer Conference on Tuesday the release of version 4.0 under the Apache 2.0 license. The license transfer makes good on a longstanding promise from Redmond that it would make the popular .Net code base available as open source.

Microsoft Goof - One Small Snag in a Code-Licensing Quagmire
November 17, 2009

Microsoft will soon release the source code and binaries for a Windows 7 tool that was recently found to contain code licensed under the GNU General Public License. The tool in question is the company's free Windows 7 USB / DVD Download Tool, which enables consumers to create bootable USB drives or DVD backup media from the electronic software edition of Windows 7 that comes in an ISO format.

Microsoft Foes Aim to Snatch Patent Advantage in Linux Tussle
September 09, 2009

Open Invention Network announced Tuesday that it acquired 22 Linux-related patents that Microsoft recently sold to the Allied Security Trust. OIN consists of a group of companies -- including Microsoft rivals IBM, Sony, Red Hat and Google -- that have been girding themselves for a legal fight over Linux.

Licenses, Libraries, Laws and Loopholes
August 20, 2009

It's been a relatively quiet few days on the Linux blogs, but that didn't stop geeks from taking time out last Sunday to wish Debian a happy birthday. Yes, it was exactly 16 years ago on the 16th that Ian Murdock announced the imminent arrival of what he called the "Debian Linux Release." Happy Birthday, Debian.

Piracy, Open Source and the Shrinking Space Between
August 06, 2009

There's a rumor that honor exists among thieves, but outside of Robin Hood, no one considers them a bunch of do-gooders. Yet there may be a bright side to their shadowy work, at least in terms of enterprise software. It could very well be that they will drive the prices down.

On Patents, Promises and 'Ugly' Patches
July 16, 2009

It was once written that promises are most given when the least is said. Lately, however, a great deal has been said about Redmond's latest round of promises. For those who haven't been following the story, it all began when Microsoft's Peter Galli announced last week that his company had applied its "Community Promise" to the C# and CLI programming languages.

Microsoft Puts C#, CLI Under No-Lawsuit Umbrella
July 08, 2009

Microsoft made good Tuesday on a promise it made months ago to the open source community that it would not sue software developers who use its EMCA C# programming language and Common Language Infrastructure, or CLI. This announcement aims to calm growing fears that Microsoft might restrict open source projects by going after program developers for patent or other intellectual property infringements.

FOSS and the Labyrinthine Land of Licensing
May 29, 2009

Last December, a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision that could push FOSS questions into a more litigious arena. In the matter of Jacobsen v. Katzer, the court ruled that breach of an open-source license can support a claim for copyright infringement with associated remedies.

Open Core Debate: The Battle for a Business Model
April 15, 2009

Is software truly open source if you pay for additional features? Your answer may depend on whether you side with the purists or the, ah, not-so-pure. A recent trend entering the debate involves the marketing of so-called open core software. This morphed business model is not what many open source supporters consider "pure" open source.

The Mystery Deepens: Sinister Views on the TomTom Case
March 09, 2009

When we wrote about the Microsoft-TomTom lawsuit a week ago, we thought we had pretty much covered the spectrum of perspectives flying around the blogosphere. But then Jeremy Allison, a leader of the Samba project, posted a comment on Glyn Moody's original Open... post that seems to have changed everything.

Microsoft vs. TomTom: Low-Level Hum or Drums of War?
March 02, 2009

Those in the Linux community tend to pay fairly close attention to any news relating to Microsoft, but when that news includes a lawsuit involving our favorite operating system, all eyes, ears and keyboards become trained on Redmond. Yes indeed, traveling across the blogosphere in the past few days since Microsoft announced its suit against TomTom, it was almost difficult to find discussion of anything else.

Hawking Open Source in Tough Times
February 24, 2009

The ongoing economic meltdown has presented a unique strategic opportunity to vendors of open source software. Slashed budgets and riffed staffs are forcing enterprise users of proprietary software business solutions to rethink the suitability of open source replacement products. Many firms are discovering that the misconception that "free" means "cheap" is causing them to overspend on proprietary software.

Open Source Integration Challenges and Solutions
December 24, 2008

Linux has proven that the open source model works -- it addresses two of the biggest challenges for IT professionals: the high cost of infrastructure software and the limitations a closed stack imposes on the enterprise. Open source is particularly appealing for cost savings, vendor neutrality, access to source code and innovation.

A Teacher's Misguided Linux Rant and the Equally Misguided Response
December 15, 2008

A variety of interesting topics are usually discussed on the Linux blogs in an average week, which is why it's often so hard for us here at LinuxInsider to choose a select few to focus on in this column. Luckily for us this time around, last week was no average week.