Legal FAQ
legal
- What is intellectual property? The most common forms of intellectual property include patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets.
- What is a software license? When buying software, it is the license that is purchased. The license is a contract between a publisher and a user regarding a software's terms of use. This builds upon an existing body of copyright law.
- What is a software patent? Software patents are the application of patent law to software.
- Given the trend of internationalization, what effects does this have on software use? Each jurisdiction may have different laws regarding copyright in general and software in particular. Issues are currently negotiated on a case by case basis. It is important to read each license to determine acceptable usage. If in doublt, call the publisherwith international usage questions.
- What is so difficult about SAM from a legal perspective? Changes in legislation, case law and accounting rules governing SAM are ongoing. Some software enforcement practices are unreasonable and legal professionals are often caught unaware of current practices.
- What are some good reference books?
- Modern Priates: Protect Your Company from the Software Police by Alan A. Plastow
- Law for IT Professionals by Paul Brennan, General Counsel, FAST
- Does IT Matter? by Nicholas G. Carr
- Negotiating for Dummies by Michael C. Donaldson
- Project Management for Dummies by Stanely E. Portny, PMP
- Understanding Open Source & Free Software Licensing by Andrew M. St. Laurent
