The FLOW Syllabus (Working Draft)
Under Construction (Version 1.30)
- The FLOW Syllabus is presented on a wiki so that it can be refined and extended through YOUR direct participation. Occasional 'snapshots' of this working draft will be given version numbers and will be posted on the main OSI site at http://www.opensource.org.
- What you are looking at now is a working version of the syllabus that is being edited frequently. There is not yet a 'snapshot' that has completed a round of peer review through the OSI Working Group on Management Education.
- The Working Group Chair, Joseph Potvin, can be reached at jpotvin@opman.ca and 1–819–593–5983.
- The content is provided in a single long page for the time being. Later versions may be separated by module and sub-module onto separate pages, linked through a multi-page table of contents.
- All links that currently expose the URL are in the process of being converted to hyperlinks, each also with a footnote that displays the URL directly at the bottom of the the page. This is done to facilitate offline use.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Module: Methodology of the FLOW Syllabus
- Overview of the Syllabus Structure, Methodology and Scope
- How to Make it Easier for Corporate Legal Counsel to Help You
- Decision-Making Under Uncertainty at the Intersection between "Source Code" and "Civil Code"
- Reducing Uncertainty through Intellectual Provenance Management
- FLOW: Free/Libre/Open Works ≡ (Good Values) + (Good Value)
- Intellectual Capital Restrictions Other Than Copyright and Patent
- Internal Organizational Context
- Module: FLOW Business Risk & Value Management - Copyright / Droit d'auteur
- Scope and Limitations of Copyright / Droit d'auteur
- Concepts, definitions, boundary of application, incl. copyright assignment issues and solutions (Canada, US, other)
- Real World Copyright Court Cases (what went wrong; reasons for decision)
- Copyright Risk-Minimization and Value-Maximization in the Organization's Context
- Module: FLOW Business Risk & Value Management - Artificial Monopolies on Computational Ideas ("Software Patents")
- Module: FLOW Business Risk & Value Management - Licensing, Contracting, Trade Secrets
- Module: FLOW Foundations and Their Ways
Module: Methodology of the FLOW Syllabus
General Disclaimer:
1. The information provided in this course is intended to strengthen self-directed learning as individuals and teams to enable more effective communication between you and your colleagues, including your lawyer(s), on a variety of topics associated with the intellectual capital management of free/libre/open works.
2. Laws and regulations govern the provision of "legal advice" in each jurisdiction. Neither the syllabus contributors nor your course facilitator if you have one, serve in any way as proxies or substitutes for your organization's lawyer(s). So at risk of sounding defensive right off the bat: TINLA: This is not legal advice; IANYL: I am not your lawyer; and IANAL: I am not a lawyer.
3. Nothing represented in the syllabus can be assumed to represent views of a particular individual or organization, even when an organization hosts or delivers an instance of the content or of training based upon it.
4. This course syllabus is shared under the most recent versions of both the CC-BY-SA1 and GNU-FDL2 licenses. If you have never actually read those licenses, please take a few minutes to do so. Each of the third-party materials referenced in the syllabus is under its own respective copyright and terms of distribution.
Overview of the Syllabus Structure, Methodology and Scope
Pre-Course Coordination
- Schedule with Doodle http://www.doodle.com
- Audio & text via SIP can be useful (e.g. Jitsi https://jitsi.org or Linphone http://www.linphone.org are advanced free/libre/open solutions)
- OpenEtherpad http://etherpad.org/ provides easy co-authoringCompare multiple time zones with TheTimeNow http://www.thetimenow.com/meeting-planner.phphttp://www.thetimenow.com/meeting-planner.php
Syllabus Structure and Methodology
- README - Methodology Notes for The FLOW Syllabus (Version 1.20)
The Case Method
— Why Use the Case Method?
http://www.intelcasestudies.com/cases/why_the_case_method.html
http://www.intelcasestudies.com/cases/benefits.html
http://www.intelcasestudies.com/cases/case_discussion.html
— Case Method in Practice
http://www.hbs.edu/teaching/case-method-in-practice/
— The Case Method
http://www.fao.org/docrep/W7500E/w7500e0b.htm
The Problem Method
— Beyond the Case Method: It's Time to Teach with Problems (See especially pages 264-265) http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=pubs
— The Use of Problem-Based Learning in Medical Education (See especially "Tutorial learning", pages 153-154) http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/mdprog/pbl_whatis.html
Scope
- A Visual Guide to Intellectual Capital Management http://www.projectmanagementhotel.com/attachments/5986/IntellectualCapitalManagement_VisualGuide_25may2013PDF.pdf
- Definitions — Factors of Productions
— Enabling factors for managing intellectual resources in engineering design http://www.designsociety.org/download-publication/26772/enabling_factors_for_managing_intellectual_resources_in_engineering_design - Target Outcomes
— For course participants
— For the organization
— For external stakeholders
How to Make it Easier for Corporate Legal Counsel to Help You
A benefit of this course can be to build more effective lines of communication between the technical developers/managers of free/libre/open works for your organization and your corporate legal counsel. The sources below report a trend whereby corporate legal counsel has been brought into more of a core business management role than in the past. The corollary is that developers/managers of free/libre/open works must become effective in their ability to communicate with legal counsel. An Explanation of Computation Theory for Lawyers http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20091111151305785 is excellent, but is probably more than your lawyers have time to read. They will often need to rely directly upon you, as developers and development team managers, to explain what you do, in a manner that is parsed or ported into legal concepts.
- Categories of Law http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/jmontgom/Law%2012/Unit%201/2%20-%20Categorizing%20Law.ppt
- The Evolving Role of General Counsel (Canadian Bar Association) www.ccca-accje.org/Fr/resources/PDF/The%20Evolving%20Role%20of%20General%20Counsel_R.Patzelt_posted%20Sept.09.11.pdf (http://www.cba.org/cba/Halifax2011/pd/ccca-401.aspx
- An Expanding Role: Changes for corporate counsel – comparing Canadian and global trends (Deloitte) http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-Canada/Local%20Assets/Documents/FA/ca_en_fa_corporate_counsel_050211.pdf
- The Role of In-House Counsel: Global Distinctions (Association of Corporate Counsel, US) http://www.acc.com/legalresources/quickcounsel/troicgd.cfm
- Privilege Primer: Best Practices for Internal Counsel http://mcmillan.ca/privilege-primer-best-practices-for-internal-counsel
- Law and Society in Transition: Introduction
- Practical Advice to Scale Open Source Legal Support http://www.linuxfoundation.org/publications/compliance/practical-advice-to-scale-open-source-legal-support
Decision-Making Under Uncertainty at the Intersection between "Source Code" and "Civil Code"
- "The Methodological Significance of Uncertainty":/projects/course-free-libre-open/wiki/Uncertainty
- Learning in and about complex systems http://www.exponentialimprovement.com/cms/uploads/LearningInAndAboutComplexSystems.pdf
- Emergent Learning Maps
- The Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness http://books.google.ca/books?id=P5xrwZ8QyVwC&lpg=PA9&ots=ynrasLHIVr&dq=%22misplaced%20concreteness%22%20law&pg=PA9#v=onepage&q=%22misplaced%20concreteness%22%20law&f=false
— Ceci n'est pas une pipe http://foucault.info/documents/img/notapipe/surrealistplumber.jpg
— The Fallacy of Misplaced Specificity http://books.google.ca/books?id=CT8f9KAcpMgC&lpg=PA242&ots=Ep1Kw4-GNH&dq=%22misplaced%20specificity%22%20law&pg=PA242#v=onepage&q=%22misplaced%20specificity%22%20law&f=false - Communication Models http://communicationtheory.org/category/communication-models/ and http://communicationtheory.org/category/communication-models/page/2/ (See: http://communicationtheory.org/osgood-schramm-model-of-communication/ )
- Success & Failure in IT Projects
— What Is Failure? http://martinfowler.com/bliki/WhatIsFailure.html
— The Rise and Fall of the Chaos Report Figures http://www.cs.vu.nl/~x/chaos/chaos.pdf
- Concepts vs. Legislation vs. Jurisdiction vs. Litigation in a Composite International Legal Environment
- The International Free and Open Source Software Law Review http://www.ifosslr.org/ifosslr
- The International Free and Open Source Software Law Book http://ifosslawbook.org/about/
- The Creative Commons Jurisdiction Database http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Jurisdiction_Database
- Comparison of IP Laws in California and Canada http://142.103.216.236/ccsip/Wiki%20Pages/Comparison%20of%20IP%20Laws%20in%20California%20and%20Canada.aspx
Reducing Uncertainty through Intellectual Provenance Management
- Intellectual Provenance
— Electronic Discovery in Canada: Best Practices and Guidelines http://www.cch.ca/_resources/pdf/ebook/b109.pdf
— How might your current practices be improved to make it easier for you lawyers to help you in the event of litigation? - W3C PROV Family of Documents
— An Overview of the PROV Family of Documents: W3C Working Group Note http://www.w3.org/TR/prov-overview/
— A Free/Libre/Open Source Implementation of W3C-PROV in Taverna Workflow Management System http://www.taverna.org.uk/documentation/taverna-2-x/provenance/
☏ Audio File (pending): Listen to a Discussion with the Co-Editors of Groklaw on the Surreal World of Copyright & Patent Litigation
- Mark Webbink Co-Editor of Groklaw since 2011, and Board Member of the Software Freedom Law Center, works as Executive Director of the Center for Patent Innovations at New York Law School, where he also oversees the Peer To Patent project run with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. As a senior lecturing fellow at Duke University School of Law he teaches patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret licensing. He was the first General Counsel at Red Hat from from 2000 to 2004, as well as Senior Vice President, and from 2004 to August 2007 Deputy General Counsel, retiring from Red Hat in 2007. He received his J.D., magna cum laude, from North Carolina Central University School of Law in 1994. http://www.nyls.edu/faculty/faculty_profiles/mark_webbink/
- Pamela Jones is the Founding Editor (2003-11), then Co-Editor and was for a decade the primary contributor to Groklaw. Applying open-source methods to research, her blog grew to become a top source of news and analysis on litigation and legislation relevant to free/libre/open source software, visited by millions of daily visitors with legal and technology backgrounds. Her most prominent coverage was the twisted decade-long SCO-initiated cases relating to copyright claims; various cases that address the issue of software patents being patents on mathematics, and the Oracle v. Google patent case in cooperation with Mark Webbink. She also initiated articles asking the community to search for prior art. The 16th of May 2013 was Groklaw's 10th Anniversary http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20130515162826518 PJ ended her involvement on 10 August 2013 http://10questions.peppla.com/pj.html.html when it became apparent that the US government would not respect the Moral Rights of her sources to remain anonymous. See: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/property/library/moralprimer.html
☏ Audio File (pending): Listen to a Discussion with an Invited Authority on the Composite International Legal Environment Governing Copyrights, Patents and Contracts (Part 1)
Various domains of law affect computer program developers, and managers, and the organizations they work for. Their own legal incorporation, and that of each of their clients, may be state/provincial or national. And yet the developers, and managers may participate in free/libre/open works with globally-distributed co-authors and co-managers. Many multinational/multilateral organizations have employees located in multiple countries who participate in free/libre projects under rules of employment particular to their state/provincial or national jurisdictions and types of employers (commercial, charitable, educational, governmental, multilateral). In addition to the differences of semantic meaning of words across languages and contextually different concepts across cultures, formal laws and contracts are codified within different state/province, national, pluri-national, and multi-national legal jurisdictions. How should developers and development team managers take into account this deeply heterogeneous legal environment? What obvious pitfalls can be avoided? What risks must just be accepted?
- "Eben Moglen":http://www.softwarefreedom.org/about/team/ is Executive Director of the Software Freedom Law Center and Professor of Law and Legal History at Columbia University Law School. He has represented many of the world's leading free software developers, and co-authored the GNU series of licenses. Professor Moglen earned his PhD in History and law degree at Yale University during what he sometimes calls his “long, dark period” in New Haven. After law school he clerked for Judge Edward Weinfeld of the United States District Court in New York City and for Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court. He is admitted to practice in the State of New York and before the United States Supreme Court. Recently he started the FreedomBox Foundation.
FLOW: Free/Libre/Open Works ≡ (Good Values) + (Good Value)
- The Value Proposition for Participating in Free Libre Open Works
- About FLOW and RENT Business Models
- Open Season http://www.iam-magazine.com/issues/Article.ashx?g=744683bc-5660-4a1b-bda5-bf5e1316586b
- FOSS Primers http://www.iosn.net/publications/foss-primers
— FOSS Licensing http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/FOSS_Licensing - Open Source Security Strategy http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?OpenSourceSecurityStrategy
- Clarifying Guidance Regarding Open Source Software http://dodcio.defense.gov/Portals/0/Documents/FOSS/2009OSS.pdf
- What can be learned from physical free/libre/open markets?
— The global market for bags of plain air http://www.freedoniagroup.com/DocumentDetails.aspx?ReferrerId=FG-01&studyid=2839 (Some configurations are limited by patents, eg: http://innovativeip.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/bubble-wrap-a-great-inventor-success-story/
— The global market for bottles of plain water https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottled_water#Global_sales
— The global market for free/libre/open hardware http://singularityhub.com/2010/05/10/13-open-source-hardware-companies-making-1-million-or-more-video/
- Operational Metadata for Digital Restrictions/Rights Management (DRM)
- ODRL
— Resource Description Framework (RDF) http://www.w3.org/RDF/
— ODRL Community Group http://www.w3.org/community/odrl/
— Describing Copyright in RDF http://creativecommons.org/ns#
— Introducing RDF for GNU Licenses http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/2009-06-rdf See: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.rdf - XrML
— A Formal Foundation for XrML (eXtensible rights Markup Language) www.cs.cornell.edu/home/halpern/papers/xrml.pdf
— XrML Reference Implementation:
— MPEG-21 Rights Expression Language http://mpeg.chiariglione.org/standards/mpeg-21/rights-expression-language
— MPEG-21 Rights Data Dictionary http://mpeg.chiariglione.org/standards/mpeg-21/rights-data-dictionary
- ODRL
Intellectual Capital Restrictions Other Than Copyright and Patent
Trademarks
— Model Trademark Guidelines (written by and for free and open source software communities) http://modeltrademarkguidelines.org/index.php?title=Home:_Model_Trademark_Guidelines
Industrial Design
— Industrial Designs Compared to Copyrights http://www.capatents.com/industrial7b.html
— Industrial Design: Subject matter and scope http://www.bereskinparr.com/Section/About_Intellectual_Property/Industrial_Design
— Industrial Design Act http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-9/FullText.html
Trade Secrets
Real World Contract Court Cases (what went wrong; reasons for decision)
- Case 1: See Paragraphs 37-42 in: Wayne John Stewart v. Her Majesty The Queen (R. v. Stewart, [1988] 1 S.C.R. 963) http://scc.lexum.org/decisia-scc-csc/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/331/1/document.do
- Case 2: United States of America v. Sergey Aleynikov http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/ea08355b-8152-43de-ad6f-7299ed2f176f/1/doc/11-1126_complete_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/ea08355b-8152-43de-ad6f-7299ed2f176f/1/hilite/
- Question in Goldman Sachs case: Can open-source software be stolen? http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9137161/Question_in_Goldman_Sachs_case_Can_open_source_software_be_stolen_
- Unlawful use of secret scientific material and unlawful duplication of computer related material http://blogs.findlaw.com/in_house/2013/05/vance-can-proceed-to-trial-against-former-goldman-sachs-programmer.html
- Trade Secrets
- Behavioural Risk Indicators of Malicious Insider Theft of Intellectual Property
http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20111207_01
☏ Audio File (pending): Listen to a Discussion with an Invited Authority on Intellectual Rights Compliance Management and Risk Identification
- Janet Campbell, Director, Intellectual Property, Secretary and Legal Counsel, Eclipse Foundation. Janet is responsible for the review of intellectual property proposed for inclusion in Eclipse open source projects. This review includes examining both the provenance of the intellectual property and license compatibility. She is author of the Eclipse Legal Process and maintains the document on an ongoing basis. She is also co-author of the Eclipse Guide to Legal Documents, which has benefitted from the work of several contributors over the years. In this session, Janet will discuss how the Eclipse Foundation manages contributions of source code to Eclipse projects and undertakes due diligence to reduce and mitigate risks due to parties involved in re-use or re-distribution. http://www.microdoc.com/eclipse-embedded-day-2009-video-managing-open-source-legal-issues-janet-campbell
Non-Disclosure Clauses or Agreements
— Content to be added
Non-Compete Clauses or Agreements
— Content to be added
Post-Sale Restraints
— Ethyl Gasoline Corp. v. United States, 309 U.S. 436 (1940) http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/309/436/case.html
— United States v. General Electric Co., 272 U.S. 476 (1926) http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/272/476/
— Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Elecs., Inc. http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/553/06-937/
Internal Organizational Context
- Current Practices
- Concerns and Challenges
- Interests and Opportunities
Module: FLOW Business Risk & Value Management - Copyright / Droit d'auteur
Preparatory reading:
- "Managing copyright information within a free software project" http://softwarefreedom.org/resources/2012/ManagingCopyrightInformation.html
Scope and Limitations of Copyright / Droit d'auteur
- How is Copyright Relevant to Source Data and Source Code? http://timreview.ca/article/121
- Includes: Moral Rights
— Moral Rights http://www.law-faqs.org/wiki/index.php/Copyright/Types_of_Copyright#Moral_Rights
— Copyright Law in Diverse Countries http://copyright-watch.org/
— NAFTA: A Note on Moral Rights http://www.pro.rcip-chin.gc.ca/propriete_intellectuelle-intellectual_property/droit_alena-law_nafta/droits_moraux-moral-eng.jsp
— Moral Rights and OSS http://www.law.washington.edu/lta/swp/law/moralrights.html - Includes: Translations (and Porting of Source Code)
— Translations and Copyright http://www.cjam.info/index.php/en/legal-informations/copyright/168-translations-and-copyright - Excludes: Functionality and Language
— The functionality of a computer program and the programming language cannot be protected by copyright http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2012-05/cp120053en.pdf - Excludes: Factual Data and its Structure (eg. the GIS data and database tables of a geospatial solution)
— Canada: TeleDirect Inc. v. American Business Information Inc. http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fca/doc/1997/1997canlii6378/1997canlii6378.html
— US: Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co. Inc. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=499&invol=340
- Includes: Moral Rights
- Copyright Title, Joint Title, and Assignment
- Desktop Summit Panel on Copyright Assignment http://dot.kde.org/2011/07/31/desktop-summit-panel-copyright-assignment
- Why the FSF gets copyright assignments from contributors http://www.gnu.org/licenses/why-assign.html
— Court Decision Shows Why Copyright Assignments Should Be Precisely Worded http://www.infolawgroup.com/2013/01/articles/copyright/copyright-assignment-language/ - Joint Ownership of Copyrights (US, 1960) www.copyright.gov/history/studies/study12.pdf
- Chronology of Canadian Copyright Law http://www.digital-copyright.ca/chronology
☏ Audio File (pending): Listen to a Discussion with an Invited Authority on the Composite International Legal Environment Governing Copyrights, Patents and Contracts (Part 2)
- Catharina Maracke is a German qualified lawyer and Associate Professor at the Graduate School for Media and Governance, Shonan Fujisawa Campus, Keio University, Japan. She specializes in international copyright law and policy, the interaction between law and technology, and standardization in the field of free/libre/open licensing. For the Shuttleworth Foundation she now leads Project Harmony that develops and maintains international porting of standardized templates for the management of copyright title in free/libre/open project contributor agreements. Previously as international Director at Creative Commons, she oversaw international porting of Creative Commons licenses. She also serves as a board member for the OpenCourseWare Consortium. http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/cmaracke
Concepts, definitions, boundary of application, incl. copyright assignment issues and solutions (Canada, US, other)
- What is Software? How Do We Obtain It? And What Do We Have Once We Have It? (pgs 2, 4; Section 4.1 on pg 9) http://www.projectmanagementhotel.com/attachments/5973/What_is_Software_4nov09aPDF.pdf
- The GPL Is a License, not a Contract http://lwn.net/Articles/61292/
- Capitalization of Software Development Costs: A Survey of Accounting Practices in the Software Industry (Introduction pg 2 and Summary pg 18) https://smartech.gatech.edu/bitstream/handle/1853/15598/FAL_ga_tech_software_dev_2006.pdf?sequence=1
- Copyright Infringement Litigation with Some Asides on Software Copyright Litigation (Section II "How", p 3-10; Section V "Special Considerations relating to Infringement of Computer Program Copyrights", p 18-20) http://www.fenwick.com/FenwickDocuments/Copyright_Infringement_Litigation.pdf
Real World Copyright Court Cases (what went wrong; reasons for decision)
- Case: Oracle v. Google
- Brief for Amicus Curiae Ralph Oman Supporting the Position of Plaintiff - Appelant and Urging Reversal (Ralph Oman is a former Register of Copyrights of the United States) http://www.scribd.com/doc/127031197/Ralph-Oman-s-Amicus-Curiae-Brief-in-Oracle-v-Google
http://www.scribd.com/doc/127031197/Ralph-Oman-s-Amicus-Curiae-Brief-in-Oracle-v-Google - Judge William Alsup knows how to play a bluff http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/06/oracle-v-google
- Oracle Files Appeal Brief in Oracle v. Google http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20130213000119924
- Brief for Amicus Curiae Ralph Oman Supporting the Position of Plaintiff - Appelant and Urging Reversal (Ralph Oman is a former Register of Copyrights of the United States) http://www.scribd.com/doc/127031197/Ralph-Oman-s-Amicus-Curiae-Brief-in-Oracle-v-Google
- Case: SCO v. evidence
- The Uneasy Case Against Copyright Trolls (Read the Abstract) http://www.stanford.edu/dept/law/ipsc/Paper%20PDF/Balganesh,%20Shyam%20-%20Paper.pdf
- SCO was the 'best thing that ever happened' to Linux http://www.zdnet.com/sco-was-the-best-thing-that-ever-happened-to-linux-3039190780/
— SCO Litigation - From Soup to Nuts http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20080803065719599
— SCO v. IBM: The Short Version http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20050303221002163
- Additional Issues and Cases:
- "The Copyright Pentalogy: How the Supreme Court of Canada Shook the Foundations of Canadian Copyright Law" http://www.press.uottawa.ca/the-copyright-pentalogy
- Technological Neutrality as a New Copyright Principle in Canadian Law
— Entertainment Software Association of Canada v. SOCAN http://scc.lexum.org/decisia-scc-csc/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/9994/index.do
— Beyond Users' Rights: Supreme Court Entrenches Technological Neutrality as a New Copyright Principle http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6592/125/ - User Rights
— CCH Canadian Ltd. v. Law Society of Upper Canada http://scc.lexum.org/decisia-scc-csc/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/2125/index.do
— Healing Fair Dealing? A Comparative Copyright Analysis of Canada’s Fair Dealing to U.K. Fair Dealing and U.S. Fair Use http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID1023938_code109516.pdf?abstractid=1014404&mirid=1
☏ Audio File (pending): Listen to a Discussion with an Invited Authority on Canada's Current and Future Copyright Framework for Free/Libre/Open Source Software Communities
- Michael Geist is a law professor, and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law, at the University of Ottawa. He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees from Cambridge University in the UK and Columbia Law School in New York, and a Doctorate in Law (J.S.D.) from Columbia Law School. Dr. Geist is the editor of "The Copyright Pentalogy: How the Supreme Court of Canada Shook the Foundations of Canadian Copyright Law" (2013); From "Radical Extremism" to "Balanced Copyright": Canadian Copyright and the Digital Agenda (2010) and In the Public Interest: The Future of Canadian Copyright Law (2005). He also serves as editor of several monthly technology law publications. Dr. Geist serves on many boards, including the CANARIE Board of Directors, the Canadian Legal Information Institute Board of Directors, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s Expert Advisory Board, the Electronic Frontier Foundation Advisory Board, and the Information Program Sub-Board of the Open Society Institute. http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/62/128/
Copyright Risk-Minimization and Value-Maximization in the Organization's Context
- Current Practices
- Concerns and Challenges
- Interests and Opportunities
Module: FLOW Business Risk & Value Management - Artificial Monopolies on Computational Ideas ("Software Patents")
Watch: http://patentabsurdity.com/watch.html (30 min)
Concepts, definitions, boundary of application (Canada, US, other)
- What are "Patents"? Why were they created?
- A temporary statutory artificial monopoly over the use of a novel, useful, non-obvious, documented idea
— Patent Law in Diverse Countries http://www.patentlens.net/daisy/patentlens/ip/around-the-world.html - Patent Act (Canada) http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-4/FullText.html (New, Useful, Non-Obvious)
— 2. ...“invention” means any new and useful art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement in any art, process, machine, manufacture or composition of matter;
— 28.3 The subject-matter defined by a claim in an application for a patent in Canada must be subject-matter that would not have been obvious on the claim date to a person skilled in the art or science to which it pertains - Patents and Open Standards http://xml.coverpages.org/patents.html
- The Standard of Non–Obviousness in Canada http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ippd-dppi.nsf/eng/ip00154.html
- Taking the Utilitarian Basis for Patent Law Seriously: The Case for Restricting Patentable Subject Matter (See: Abstract on pg 1-2; Flowchart on pg 24) http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1277&context=lsfp
- Historical Introduction of the British Patent System (pgs 14-16) http://books.google.ca/books?id=wfs8AAAAIAAJ&lpg=PP1&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q&f=false
- Significant Differences Between Canadian and American Patent Law (slightly dated, but helpful) http://www.mcmillan.ca/Significant-Differences-Between-Canadian-and-American-Patent-Law
- From “first-to-invent” to “first-to-file”: How the first-to-file and novelty requirements under the new America Invents Act compare to Canadian patent law http://www.patentable.com/from-first-to-invent-to-first-to-file/
- So Small a Town, So Many Patent Suits http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/business/24ward.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&ref=technology&pagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1369562545-AHtQ8DfI1aPth2MrhG1sYQ
- Patent Failure: How Judges, Bureaucrats, and Lawyers Put Innovators at Risk (Chpt 9: Abstract Patents and Software) http://books.google.ca/books?id=kTeDYjpqfQwC&lpg=PA79&ots=D1b4W0zhK9&dq=%22net%20benefit%22%20patents&pg=PA187#v=onepage&q=%22abstract%20patents%20and%20software%22&f=false
- A temporary statutory artificial monopoly over the use of a novel, useful, non-obvious, documented idea
- What Does "Software Is Mathematics" Mean?
- Part 1: Software Is Manipulation of Symbols http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20121013192858600
- Part 2: A Semiotics Approach to the Patent Eligibility of Software http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20121129053154687
- Plutarch (c. 46 – 120 AD), on Archimedes and the special character of subject-matter that would not have been obvious
On Archimedes:"Some attribute this success to his natural endowments; others think it due to excessive labour that everything he did seemed to have been performed without labour and with ease. For no one could by his own efforts discover the proof, and yet as soon as he learns it from him, he thinks he might have discovered it himself; so smooth and rapid is the path by which he leads one to the desired conclusion." Plutarch, "Parallel Lives of Greeks and Romans" http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Marcellus*.html (pg 481 in the 1917 Loeb Classical Library Edition, from the original book dated approximately 100 AD)
Current Developments and Trends (defensive patents; license clauses)
- Community agreements
- Apache Foundation http://www.apache.org/foundation/license-faq.html#PatentScope
- Patents and GPLv3 http://fsfe.org/campaigns/gplv3/patents-and-gplv3.en.html
- Santa Clara University Conference: Solutions to the Software Patent Problem (16 Nov 2012)
- Keynote Panel #1: What is the Problem? https://scu.box.com/s/m5v07i1fydmb4ylwzkn6/1/528505974/5097755034/1 (webm open video format http://www.webmproject.org )
— Richard Stallman, Founding President, Free Software Foundation [Video 8:00-to-11:30 and 12:05-to-15:47]
— Kent Walker, Senior VP and General Counsel, Google Inc. [Video 22:50-to-27:07] - A Report on the Santa Clara Conference on Software Patents http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20121124032902769
- Santa Clara Conference on Software Patents Recap http://writtendescription.blogspot.ca/2012/11/scu-software-patent-conference-recap.html
- Keynote Panel #1: What is the Problem? https://scu.box.com/s/m5v07i1fydmb4ylwzkn6/1/528505974/5097755034/1 (webm open video format http://www.webmproject.org )
- Let’s Limit the Effect of Software Patents, Since We Can’t Eliminate Them (R. Stallman) http://www.wired.com/opinion/2012/11/richard-stallman-software-patents/
- Proposed amendments to the European Commission's proposal for a regulation on the creation of unitary patent protection https://www.unitary-patent.eu/node/5?comment_id_key=lbmuRzWAq8b
- Sequential Innovation, Patents and Imitation www.researchoninnovation.org/patent.pdf
- Patently Absurd http://www.forbes.com/asap/2002/0624/044.html (and update http://www.forbes.com/sites/timothylee/2011/07/07/microsofts-android-shakedown/ )
- Shield software from litigation http://en.swpat.org/wiki/Shield_software_from_litigation
☏ Audio File (pending): Listen to a Discussion with an Invited Authority on 20-Year Artificial Monopolization of Computational Ideas ("Software Patents"): What do we learn from the CLS Bank v. Alice Corporation case?
- Dan Ravicher is Executive Director of the Public Patent Foundation and a Lecturer in Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, and is admitted to the United States Supreme Court, the Courts of Appeals for the Federal, 2nd and 11th Circuits, the District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the State of New York, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is also a registered patent attorney. He writes and speaks frequently on patent law and policy, including twice testifying as an invited witness before Congress on the topic of patent reform, and he was named to both Managing Intellectual Property magazine's '50 Most Influential People in IP' list and IP Law & Business magazine's 'Top 50 Under 45' list. http://www.pubpat.org/Board.htm
Real World Patent Court Cases (what went wrong; reasons for decision)
- Case 1: CLS Bank International v. Alice Corporation_
- United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, CLS BANK INTERNATIONAL, Plaintiff-Appellee, AND CLS SERVICES LTD., Counterclaim Defendant-Appellee, v. ALICE CORPORATION PTY. LTD., Defendant-Appellant. Decided: May 10, 2013 http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/images/stories/opinions-orders/11-1301.Opinion.5-8-2013.1.PDF
- CLS Bank panel decision (http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13846668729587624571)
— Read the panel decision, and discuss Linn's opinion for the court, and the dissent by Prost - En banc order http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/images/stories/opinions-orders/2011-1301%20order.pdf
— Read en banc order, and discuss the questions in section (3)
- Case 2: Bilski v. Kappos - Supreme Court of the United States "www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-964.pdf":http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-964.pdf
☏ Audio File (pending): Listen to a Discussion with an Invited Authority on 20-Year Artificial Monopolization of Computational Ideas ("Software Patents"): The Open Invention Network (OIN) and The Future of Patent Non-Aggression Pacts
- Keith Bergelt is the chief executive officer of Open Invention Network (OIN), a company that acquires patents and licenses them royalty free to entities which, in turn, agree not to assert their own patents against Linux and Linux-related systems and applications. Mr. Bergelt holds an Artium Baccalaureus degree from Duke University, a Jurist Doctorate degree from Southern Methodist University School of Law and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Theseus Institute in France. He has previously served as president and CEO of two Hedge Funds focused on the asset value of patents, trademarks and copyrights. And earlier in his career he established and served as General Manager of the Strategic Intellectual Asset Management business unit at Motorola Corporation and served as Motorola's director of Technology Strategy. Mr. Bergelt was a co-founder of the Intellectual Property Advisory Practice within the Electronics and Telecommunications Industry group at SRI Consulting in Menlo Park, California. http://www.openinventionnetwork.com/press_management.php
Brainstorming a Worst Case Scenario Business Survival Guide on Computational Idea Patents. Risk-Minimization and Value-Maximization in the Organization's Context
- Current Practices
- Concerns and Challenges
- Interests and Opportunities
- Defensive Publications
- DefensivePublications.org http://www.defensivepublications.org/
- Defensive patent publications establish the existence of prior art in any field http://opensource.com/education/13/2/software-defensive-patents
- IP.com http://ip.com/
Module: FLOW Business Risk & Value Management - Licensing, Contracting, Trade Secrets
Preparatory Reading on License Proliferation http://www.rosenlaw.com/pdf-files/LicenseProliferation.pdf (3.5 pgs)
License Similarities; Differences; Choices; Trends; Linkages to Other Types of Agreements
- "License Haiku" http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/000360
- GPL, Eclipse, Apache, MIT, etc.
- A Spectrum of FLOW Licenses
- List of Licensing Tools http://wiki.opensource.org/bin/view/Projects/List__of__Licensing__Tools
- Telekom Open Source License Compendium http://dtag-dbu.github.io/oslic/releases/oslic-0.98.1.pdf (About: http://dtag-dbu.github.io/oslic/ )
- Comparing Free/Libre/Open Licenses http://www.tldrlegal.com/browse
- Schematic representation of license directionality http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002598
- Five Permissive Licenses Side-by-Side http://www.projectmanagementhotel.com/attachments/5989/Compare_5PermissiveLicensesPDF.pdf
- Apache License v2.0 and GPL Compatibility http://www.apache.org/licenses/GPL-compatibility.html
— On Indemnification, See Section 9 of the Apache License v2.0
— Indemnification Means Always Having to Say You're Sorry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYcB-_x9gA - A Practical Guide to GPL Compliance http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2008/compliance-guide.html
- Compliance Guides from The Linux Foundation http://www.linuxfoundation.org/publications/compliance
- The (Telekom) Open Source Compliance Advisor http://opensource.telekom.net/oscad/
- GPL Software Certification Program http://www.fsf.org/licensing/compliancelab.html
— A patent license that is GPL compatible: Firestar Software v. Redhat http://www.redhat.com/f/pdf/blog/patent_settlement_agreement.pdf
— Explanation of the Firestar Software v. Redhat Settlement http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20080715054748526 - A Guide to the Legal Documentation for Eclipse-Based Content http://www.eclipse.org/legal/guidetolegaldoc.php
— The Eclipse Legal Process www.eclipse.org/legal/EclipseLegalProcessPoster.pdf - Choosing a Software License (In: A Quick Guide to Software Licensing for the Scientist-Programmer) Scroll half-way down in: http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002598
- Proliferation and Standardization (Licenses; Contributor Agreements; Subscriptions)
- License Proliferation http://www.rosenlaw.com/pdf-files/LicenseProliferation.pdf
- Google says no to license proliferation (3-part series) http://www.zdnet.com/blog/burnette/google-says-no-to-license-proliferation/192
- Linux Foundation's Generic Open Source Review Board Contribution Form http://www.linuxfoundation.org/publications/compliance/generic-osrb-contribution-form
- LLVM Developer Policy http://llvm.org/docs/DeveloperPolicy.html
— LLVM comments on "Copyright, License, and Patents" http://llvm.org/docs/DeveloperPolicy.html#copyright-license-patents
— University of Illinois/NCSA Open Source License http://opensource.org/licenses/UoI-NCSA.php
— FSF Comments on the University of Illinois/NCSA Open Source License http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#NCSA
— FSF Comments on the Modified (3-clause) BSD License http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#ModifiedBSD
- Dual/multi Licensing Options (for commits; for projects)
- Maintaining Permissive-Licensed Files in a GPL-Licensed Project: Guidelines for Developers http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2007/gpl-non-gpl-collaboration.html
- Challenges with Hybrid Protection Models http://www.iprinfo.com/julkaisut/verkkojulkaisut/ipr-series-b/fi_FI/proprietary-softvare-vs-foss-b4-ballardini/_files/88735925433140131/default/B4_Ballardini.pdf
- Understanding GPL Exceptions
— Sample License Notices http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html#GPLIncompatibleLibs
— On Selling Exceptions to the GNU GPL http://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/selling-exceptions
— GCC Runtime Library Exception http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/libstdc____/manual/license.html
- Contributor agreements
- Project Harmony: Contributor agreements for free and open source software http://www.harmonyagreements.org/
- The trouble with Harmony http://opensource.com/law/11/7/trouble-harmony-part-1 and http://opensource.com/law/11/7/trouble-harmony-part-2
- OpenStack Project Individual Contributor License Agreement https://review.openstack.org/static/cla.html and OpenStack: How To Contribute https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/How_To_Contribute
- NDA Program Confidential Disclosure Agreement for Contributors, The Linux Foundation http://www.linuxfoundation.org/images/2/2e/NDA_contributors.pdf
- The Subscription Model
- Open Source Procurement: Subscriptions http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/simon-says/2011/03/open-source-procurement-subscriptions/index.htm
- Open Source Business Innovation and the Subscription Model http://stephesblog.blogs.com/my_weblog/2007/08/open-source-bus.html
- Why Subscriptions? http://www.redhat.com/about/whoisredhat/subscriptions.html
- Open source procurement: Indemnity http://opensource.com/law/11/2/open-source-procurement-indemnity
- Indemnification Parameters. In: Open Source Software Issues in Commercial Transactions http://about.bloomberglaw.com/practitioner-contributions/open-source-software-issues/
- Google Glass: Something like a Subscription
- FLOW in Employment Contracts
- Who Owns Copyright at Work? http://zvulony.ca/2010/articles/intellectual-property-law/copyright-law/copyright-at-work/
- Who Owns the Intellectual Property: The Employee or the Employer? http://www.lmlaw.ca/who_owns.pdf
- Sign on the Dotted Line: NDAs and Free and Open Source Software http://faif.us/cast/2011/apr/12/0x0D/ (See slide deck at http://faif.us/cast-media/FaiF_0x0D_NDAs.odp )
- Contracts for people to work on Open Source Software http://andrew.mcmillan.net.nz/foss_friendly_employment_contracts
- Beware Employment Contracts http://developers.slashdot.org/story/02/03/21/0139244/beware-employment-contracts?sdsrc=rel
Module: FLOW Foundations and Their Ways
The Free/Libre/Open Way Part 1: FLOW Governance Concepts
- Governance of Not-for-Profit Organizations
- 20 Questions Directors of Not-for-profit Organizations Should Ask about Governance http://www.cica.ca/focus-on-practice-areas/governance-strategy-and-risk/not-for-profit-director-series/20-questions-series/item12302.pdf
- To Pay or Not To Pay http://asspl.com.au/article/to-pay-or-not-to-pay/
- Governance of Open Source Software Foundations
- A Framework for Evaluating Managerial Styles in Open Source Projects http://flosshub.org/sites/flosshub.org/files/framework%20for%20evaluating%20Mangerial%20Style.pdf
- Governance of Open Source Software Foundations: Who Holds the Power? (See p 41 "Centres of power for all six foundations" and p 42 "Conclusion") http://timreview.ca/sites/default/files/article_PDF/Prattico_TIMReview_December2012.pdf
- Open Source Software Foundations (See "OSSF Effectiveness") http://timreview.ca/article/194
- Tragedy of the FOSS Commons? Investigating the institutional designs of free/libre and open source software projects http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1619/1534
Real World Contract Court Cases (what went wrong; reasons for decision)
- Case 1: See Paragraphs 37-42 in: Wayne John Stewart v. Her Majesty The Queen (R. v. Stewart, [1988] 1 S.C.R. 963) http://scc.lexum.org/decisia-scc-csc/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/331/1/document.do
- Case 2: United States of America v. Sergey Aleynikov http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/ea08355b-8152-43de-ad6f-7299ed2f176f/1/doc/11-1126_complete_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/ea08355b-8152-43de-ad6f-7299ed2f176f/1/hilite/
- Question in Goldman Sachs case: Can open-source software be stolen? http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9137161/Question_in_Goldman_Sachs_case_Can_open_source_software_be_stolen_
- Unlawful use of secret scientific material and unlawful duplication of computer related material http://blogs.findlaw.com/in_house/2013/05/vance-can-proceed-to-trial-against-former-goldman-sachs-programmer.html
- Trade Secrets
- Behavioural Risk Indicators of Malicious Insider Theft of Intellectual Property
http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20111207_01
☏ Audio File (pending): Listen to a Discussion with an Invited Authority on Intellectual Rights Compliance Management and Risk Identification
- Janet Campbell, Director, Intellectual Property, Secretary and Legal Counsel, Eclipse Foundation. Janet is responsible for the review of intellectual property proposed for inclusion in Eclipse open source projects. This review includes examining both the provenance of the intellectual property and license compatibility. She is author of the Eclipse Legal Process and maintains the document on an ongoing basis. She is also co-author of the Eclipse Guide to Legal Documents, which has benefitted from the work of several contributors over the years. In this session, Janet will discuss how the Eclipse Foundation manages contributions of source code to Eclipse projects and undertakes due diligence to reduce and mitigate risks due to parties involved in re-use or re-distribution. http://www.microdoc.com/eclipse-embedded-day-2009-video-managing-open-source-legal-issues-janet-campbell
Software License Risk-Minimization and Value-Maximization in the Organization's Context
- Current Practices
- Concerns and Challenges
- Interests and Opportunities
The Free/Libre/Open Way Part 2: Multi-Entity Team and Organizational Performance
- Concepts, definitions, boundary of application, measurement, feedback
- Multi-Organizational Teams
- Risky Trust: How Multi-entity Teams Develop Trust in a High Risk Endeavor http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/11-089.pdf
- Team Scaffolds: How Minimal Team Structures Enable Role-Based Coordination http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/12-062.pdf
☏ Audio File (pending): Listen to a Discussion with an Invited Authority on Contract Considerations that Affect Participation in Free/Libre/Open Works
- Amanda Brock is Director at the international technology law firm, Origin, www.origin.co.uk. Prior to joining Origin, she was General Counsel of Canonical for 5 years. She has an LLB (Hons) from the University of Glasgow, a Masters of Comparative Jurisprudence from New York University and an LLM in IP and IT law from Queen Mary, University of London. She is admitted as a solicitor in Scotland and England and Wales. She is author of "E:Business; The Practical Guide to the Laws", and was an editor of the Butterworth's publication Electronic Business Law, and contributed a chapter on commercial agreements in open source to Walden and Shentov, Free and Open Source Software: Policy, Law and Practise, published by Oxford University Press in 2013. Amanda has lectured extensively on IT and commercial law internationally. http://www.origin.co.uk/team/amanda-brock.php
The Free/Libre/Open Way Part 3: Case Analysis
— How does someone become a participant in their projects?
— How are decisions arrived at?
— Does the license type seem to influence any aspect of governance?
— How does each address copyright ownership?
— How does each address patent non-aggression?
— What unwritten expectations should you keep in mind?
- Linux Foundation http://www.linuxfoundation.org/about/bylaws
— A Guide to the Kernel Development Process https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/development-process/1.Intro
— Open Source Compliance Publications http://www.linuxfoundation.org/publications/compliance
- OpenStack Foundation https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Governance/Foundation/Bylaws
— Contribute to OpenStack / Community https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/Main_Page
— http://www.openstack.org/legal/
- Eclipse Foundation http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/
— Eclipse Development Process http://www.eclipse.org/projects/dev_process/development_process_2011.php
- Apache Foundation http://www.apache.org/foundation/
— Open Source Software Peer Review Practices: A Case Study of the Apache Server http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~xswang/research/papers/serelated/testing/p541-rigby.pdf
- LLVM (not a foundation but still interesting for us)
— LLVM Developer Policy http://llvm.org/docs/DeveloperPolicy.html
— Life of an Instruction in LLVM http://eli.thegreenplace.net/2012/11/24/life-of-an-instruction-in-llvm/
- R Foundation http://www.r-project.org/foundation/Rfoundation-statutes.pdf
— Model of Rigorous FLOW Control at CRAN (Comprehensive R Archive Network)
- GNOME Foundation http://www.gnome.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/bylaws.pdf
- Open Cloud Principles http://www.opencloudinitiative.org/principles
- OpenDaylight http://www.opendaylight.org/resources/faq#3m
— http://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/041913-ibm-opendaylight-268912.html
- OpenFlow http://www.openflow.org/wp/openflow-components/
— Why Apache is important to Openflow http://www.projectfloodlight.org/blog/2012/01/30/why-apache-is-important-to-openflow/
Preparation for the Session: Audio File (pending): Listen to a Discussion with an Invited Authority on "Best Practices in Organizing and running a FOSS Foundation")
- Mark Radcliffe is a senior partner at DLA Piper who practices corporate securities and intellectual property law. He has worked with many software companies, in particular open source companies and is Chair of the Open Source Industry Group at the firm. He assisted Sun Microsystems in open sourcing the Solaris operating system and drafting the "Common Development and Distribution License" (CDDL). He has represented eBay, Accenture, Adobe, Palm, Sony, Siemens Venture Capital, and SugarCRM (the first venture backed open source applications company). On a pro bono basis, he serves as outside General Counsel for the Open Source Initiative and on the Legal Committee of the Apache Software Foundation. He was the Chair of Committee C for the Free Software Foundation in reviewing GPLv3 and was the lead drafter for Project Harmony. In 2012, he became outside general counsel of the Open Stack Foundation. http://www.openstack.org/foundation/staff
Review, Integration, Operational Implications
- The next two weeks
- The next two months
- The next two years