Legal Climate for Open-Source Users Changes With Litigation and License Revisions, Wolf Greenfield Lawyer Writes in IP Law & Business

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - June 3, 2008) - Companies that use open-source source software to make money may have to reexamine their practices because of the real possibility of litigation and changes in the new version of the most popular open-source license, Edmund J. Walsh of the Boston IP law firm Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C., writes in the April issue of IP Law & Business.

The Software Freedom Law Center filed lawsuits against four for-profit companies, including Verizon. "The lawsuits represent 'muscle-flexing' by the free-software community and, taken together with changes in open source license terms, may foreshadow new risks in the irreconcilable conflict between open-source software and its widespread use by for-profit companies," Walsh writes.

All four lawsuits were settled, and while the settlements were private, Walsh contends it's "likely that the targets of this round of litigation had to make payments and waive their proprietary rights by applying open-source terms to their software. Whatever advantage these companies had from not providing the source code initially is likely more than wiped away."

Despite a popular misconception, "You are not free to do whatever you want with the open-source software and may actually find yourself in a legal fight if what you do restricts the freedom of the software," he writes. Using free software for business advantage can restrict others' freedom to use the software, creating friction with free-software advocates. The new version of the GPL imposes more restrictions on the use of open source software, Walsh points out.

One key change requires companies to "license all patents you own or control related to open-source software... even if you did not own the patents at the time you distributed the open-source software. This provision applies whether that 'distribution' is part of a conscious product-marketing strategy or just a casual sharing of software."

Before incorporating open-source software into products, company management should understand the legal risks and develop a strategy to minimize them, Walsh says.

IP Law & Business (www.iplb.com) updates attorneys and executives on the law and business of intellectual property.

Wolf Greenfield, the largest law firm in New England devoted exclusively to intellectual property law, serves companies that make everything from pharmaceuticals to software to electronics to snowboards, as well as representing academic research centers. The firm counsels clients in the areas of patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs, trade secrets, and related licensing and litigation. Web: www.wolfgreenfield.com

Contact Information: Contact: Henry Stimpson Stimpson Communications 508-647-0705 HStimpson@StimpsonCommunications.com Sara Crocker Wolf Greenfield 617-646-8231 scrocker@wolfgreenfield.com Morgan Feldman Wolf Greenfield 617-646-8378 mfeldman@wolfgreenfield.com