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Legal summits to tackle Linux

The Linux Foundation plans two gatherings that will focus on legal issues surrounding open-source software.

Chris Duckett Editor, TechRepublic Australia
Some would say that it is a long way from software engineering to journalism, others would correctly argue that it is a mere 10 metres according to the floor plan. During his first five years with CBS Interactive, Chris started his journalistic adventure in 2006 as the Editor of Builder AU after originally joining the company as a programmer. Leaving CBS Interactive in 2010 to follow his deep desire to study the snowdrifts and culinary delights of Canada, Chris based himself in Vancouver and paid for his new snowboarding and poutine cravings as a programmer for a lifestyle gaming startup. Chris returns to CBS in 2011 as the Editor of TechRepublic Australia determined to meld together his programming and journalistic tendencies once and for all.In his free time, Chris is often seen yelling at different operating systems for their own unique failures, avoiding the dreaded tech support calls from relatives, and conducting extensive studies of internets -- he claims he once read an entire one.
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Chris Duckett
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The Linux Foundation, custodians of the Linux trademark, have announced two summits to deal with legal issues surrounding Linux and open-source software.

Attendance at the first summit will be restricted to members of the Linux Foundation and their legal counsel. Attendees will focus on building a legal defense structure for Linux and policies designed to support intellectual property rights within open development.

The summit will be held in Boston on October 25 to 26.

The second summit--an open meeting--will be held in autumn 2008, and legal experts from any background will be able to attend. The summit will provide practical legal guidance on the development and distribution of open-source software and allow attendees to collaborate on issues including licensing and patents. The summit is expected to become an annual event.

"Many of today's legal conferences unnecessarily scare or confuse open-source users, developers and vendors," Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, said in a statement.

"The LF (Linux Foundation) is able to provide a forum in which it can bring together its members' legal counsel as well as its own legal team to translate issues into the straightforward matters they really are and to bring practical education to a wider audience," the statement said.

The Linux Foundation was created in 2007 by the merger of the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group. It sponsors the work of Linux founder Linus Torvalds and counts companies such as Google, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel and Novell among its members.

Chris Duckett of Builder AU reported from London.