This (slightly prolonged) week was very interesting in the Software Patents department – apart from new happenings in the Lodsys and Nortel cases, there are more and more cries about (software) patent abolition being needed (even from less likely places).

Amongst other articles, I would recommend reading Georg Greve's post on the "cloud" (Free Software Business) and Laurel Russwurm's tale (Other interesting links).

Again, I would like to thank Natalia Evdokimova for her help with preparing the links.

Free Software Licensing

OSOR: CH: Proprietary competitors delay unwrapping of open source DMS

The Inquirer: Canonical offers Ubuntu cloud support licences

The Inquirer: Microsoft splashes $100m on Suse with a four year pact

Zona-M, Free Software Tricks and Tips: Two questions about (Free) software development: copyright assignment and non-commercial use

OSOR published a compatibility matrix for the EUPL license. Still not all agree with it.

Free Software Business

Mozilla starts development of a mobile OS. Also Mozilla calls for enterprises to cooperate in its recently (re)established Mozilla Enterprise User Working Group

A brilliant (also in its shortness) post about how to have a Free as in Freedom "Cloud".

The Inquirer: Linux based Openstack will challenge VMware

Armed and Dangerous: The Smartphone Wars: Expectation and Surprise

Software Patents

National Public Radio, Planet Money: When Patents Attack

Visae Patentes: BGH X ZR 121/09 Confirms New German Approach To Examination of Software Inventions

LexisNexis: Patent-lawsuit offensive can be patently offensive

Julian Sanchez’s blog: Good Defensive Patents Are Bad Patents

Computer World UK, Glyn Moody’s blog: Why We Should – and Can – Abolish All Patents

Groklaw (as always) continues its great coverage on the Nortel patent case. Interestingly though, Google seems to buy patents for protection nonetheless. Carlo Piana uses that case to show a more broader picture of what is wrong with patents in general and how they are used.

Forbes: The Supreme Court Should Invalidate Software Patents

Forbes: Software Patents and Judicial Activism

Groklaw offers more background on Lodsys case.

Cnet news: Hulu accused of infringing on program guide patents

TechCrunch: Patent Troll Sues Amazon Over Electronic Checkout Service

Forbes, Timothy B. Lee: The Supreme Court Should Invalidate Software Patents

ArsTechnica: MPEG LA: 12 companies own patents essential to Google's VP8 codec

Government and Free Software Policies

OSOR: AT: Department of Justice's migration to OpenOffice a success story

The Inquirer: A cartel of IT vendors supply the UK Government with £3,500 PCs

OSOR: RO: Free software backers fear EU funds proprietary e-learning project

Associated Press of Pakistan: Project underway to achieve practical software engineering goals

OSOR: IT: Puglia region council to approve open source and standards law

Copyright and Other Legal Act Reforms

Torrentfreak: It Was Never About The Money, Stupid

La Quadrature Du Net: European Parliament Study Confirms ACTA Must Be Rejected

February 2011 Leaked US TPPA IP Chapter Text – copyright and enforcement: European Parliament Study Confirms ACTA Must Be Rejected

TorrentFreak: Could Quantum Computing Kill Copyright?

TechDirt: Can Innovation Through Business 'Solve' Issues That Legal Repression Can't?

Michael Geist: Canada – EU Trade Deal Pushing Toward New Canadian Copyright Enforcement Bill

TechDirt: Now That Sierra Leone Has Its Own Draconian Copyright Law, It Too Can Create Its Own Akon

Other interesting links

A sad tale of how it is normal that even someone who has substantially contributed to the work, cannot access it.

ComputerWorldUK, Glyn Moody’s blog: Time to Break up Big, Bad Apple?

BBC: The open internet and its enemies

Placr News: The growth case for open data

OSOR: 'Procurement by ten European central Banks is hindering competition'

H-online: The FOSS fakery problem

ComputerWorldUK, Simon Phipps’s blog: The Open Cloud Initiative

Visionmobile: A new way of measuring Openness, from Android to WebKit: The Open Governance Index

InfoJustice.org: CCIA: Fair Use Makes Valuable Contribution to US Economy

TechDirt: New Study: Piracy Increases The Quality Of Content

IT World: FLOSS: Accept no substitutes

VLC and unwelcome redistributors

The Guardian: Government wasting public money on overpriced IT projects – MPs

hook out → first new (home) office, soon a new proper dress for hookie :]


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