Overview of Constraints on FLOW

Learning Outcomes: Participants will become familiar with the full diversity of constraints relating to rights and responsibilities that managers or coordinators of Free/Libre/Open Works may come upon in the course of their work. The focus here is to arrive at a useful shared ontology to facilitate organized discussion of issues particular to each element, which are addressed in the rest of the Syllabus. 

Many kinds of intellectual capital restrictions exist that, depending on the context and circumstances, may have FLOW enabling and FLOW obstructing roles. (Consider the Venturi Effect as the literal case of a restriction that often serves as a convenient method of enabling flow, which usefully extends our FLOW metaphor.) Restrictions may obstruct  and/or may strengthen FLOW contributors, projects, and organizations. Even litigation that targets FLOW projects can end up greatly strengthening those projects and the "immune system" of entire FLOW movement, when those challenges are defeated in court.

Note: The sections below are preliminary and incomplete. It remains to to explain how each may be FLOW enabling in some contexts, and FLOW obstructing in others (with examples of each). Some of these only obstruct FLOW.

This is a partial draft ontology, yet to be formalized in relation to the broader field. Please contact the OSI Management Education Working Group if you would like to help structure this with the Protege ontology manager http://protege.stanford.edu/

Copyright

Summary to be added.
Copyright Session

Artificial Monopolies

Summary to be added.
Artificial Monopoly Session

Trademarks

— Model Trademark Guidelines (written by and for free and open source software communities) http://modeltrademarkguidelines.org/index.php?title=Home:_Model_Trademark_Guidelines
— The Python Trademark Dispute http://opensource.com/law/13/2/python-trademark-dispute

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

•  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

Technical Standards that Constrain Choice Amongst Business Models

"FRAND" is a FRAUD  https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/frand-is-a-fraud
European Commission's Low Attack on Open Source http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/open-enterprise/2012/12/european-commissions-low-attack-on-open-source/index.htm

Content to be added.

Non-Disclosure Clauses, Agreements or Compulsion

Protecting Know-How and Trade Secrets in Collaborative R&D Relationships http://www.strategicalliance.com/articles/protectingknowhow.htm

Content to be added.

Non-Compete Clauses, Agreements or Compulsion

• What Is The One True Android & How “Open” Is It? http://marketingland.com/what-is-the-one-true-android-and-how-open-is-it-21664  and  http://marketingland.com/google-acer-android-aliyun-21631
  — Open Handset Alliance http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/
  — FairSearch https://www.fairsearch.org/
  — SkyHook http://www.fosspatents.com/2013/06/google-says-skyhooks-assertion-of-98.html

Additional 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/