FOSSBazaar is an open community that was launched by HP and our founding partners Coverity, DLA Piper, Google, the Linux Foundation, Novell, Olliance Group, OpenLogic and SourceForge. As a workgroup of the Linux Foundation, we are dedicated to empowering individuals and organizations across the enterprise to understand the issues that exist with free and open source software (FOSS), the processes that can assist to properly govern the implementation and deployment of FOSS, and the tools that can be used to assist these efforts across the lifecycle of an open source project. The vision of FOSSBazaar is to serve as a gathering place to discuss, explore, share experiences and cooperatively solve issues related to FOSS governance. As such, the site serves the open source community as a forum representative of open source users and providers worldwide.

Over the next few months we will contribute material to FOSSbazaar and assist in developing new best practice information for the community.  You can follow our progress on Shane Coughlan’s blog or through FOSSbazaar’s RSS feed.  Our work in this project will be an open dialogue, so if you have suggestions for useful governance material you want to see available just let us know.

This was Opendawn’s first opportunity to meet developers and FOSS enthusiasts from the island of Shikoku, and it was with great pleasure that we contributed to the first OSC held in this region by Begi.net.  Experts from Shimane, Kagawa and Tokyo were all present to share their views on what’s important in FOSS today.

For more information about code governance, how companies can adhere to FOSS requirements, and Opendawn’s services in this area please contact us.

“Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) allows all stakeholders to use, study, share and improve code for commercial or non-commercial reasons. However, engagement can still appear daunting to companies. They are monetizing other people’s creations, and, with the high economic value of FOSS, making a mistake is less easily forgiven than it might be in non-commercial circumstances.

Fortunately, there is a substantial body of documentation available to help commercial stakeholders learn how FOSS licenses work, how to communicate effectively to resolve issues, and how to understand what expectations might exist beyond simple legal requirements. There are also several organizations acting as neutral educators dedicated to licensing, development, and governance issues.“

You can read the full text on LWN.net.

For more information about code governance, how companies can adhere to FOSS requirements, and Opendawn’s services in this area please contact us.

For more information about the relationship between copyright, Information Technology and Information Society, and Opendawn’s services in this area, please contact us.

More information is available from:
OSS Shimane Council Secretariat
Network Applied Communication Laboratory, Matsue 478-18 Terrsa 2nd Floor Annex, Matsue, Asahi-cho, 690-0003, Japan.
TEL: +81 (0) 852-28-9298 / E-Mail: info@shimane-oss.org

For more information about the economics of FOSS, its practical application and Opendawn’s services in this area please contact us.

His role will encompass the development of a growth strategy for the department and network, identification of external supporters for these services for FSFE’s permanent staff, and representing the organization towards donors, at industry events, public meetings and private functions.

For more information about Opendawn’s services in the area of FOSS strategy planning, network development and organizational representation please contact us.

“This article examines a field called compliance engineering. Compliance engineering was pioneered by technical experts who wanted to address misuses of software, and was made famous by gpl-violations.org, FSF, and similar organizations correcting Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) license violations. The field has grown into a commercial segment with companies like Blackduck Software and consultancy firms like Loohuis Consulting offering formal services to third parties.

Rather than attempting to examine compliance engineering in all market segments and under all conditions, this article will focus on explaining some of the tools and skills required to undertake due diligence activities related to licensing and binary code in the embedded industry. It is based on the GPL Compliance Engineering Guide, which in turn is based on the experience of engineers contributing to the gpl-violations.org project.”

You can read the full text on LWN.net.

For more information about FOSS compliance engineering in the embedded industry and Opendawn’s services in this area please contact us.

He will assist with the development of processes, issue resolution methods and integration with the international market.  One of his key activities will be building and managing communication with an international team of legal experts to contribute impartial, practical knowledge about Copyright, transaction management and cultural wealth.

For more information about Opendawn’s services in the area of project management, process development and governmental policy please contact us.

Shane delivered three speeches at the event.  The first examined ‘What Are Internet Intermediaries and their Various Types?‘ from the perspective of how the Internet is currently organized.  The second contextualized the place of ‘Search Engines, User Generated Content (UGC) and Social Network Services (SNS)‘ in the economics of the digital sphere.  The third explored measurable economic value in more detail by presenting a case-study on ‘Blogging‘.

The symposium was co-chaired by Richard Owens, the WIPO Director of Copyright E-Commerce, Technology and Management Division and Takashi Imura, Deputy Director of the International Affairs Division at the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan.  The host was the copyright office of Viet Nam.

For more information about technology, copyright and Opendawn’s services in this area please contact us.

Obtaining the article and the risk grid:

The article can be viewed as a webpage or downloaded as a PDF.  The risk grid itself is available as a PDF or OpenOffice.org spreadsheet.

Licensing information:

The article is Copyright © 2009 Andrew Katz and Shane Coughlan. This paper is licensed under a Creative Commons UK (England and Wales) 2.0 licence, no derivative works, attribution, CC-BY-ND. As a special exception, the authors expressly permit faithful translations of the entirety of this paper  into any language, provided that the resulting translation (which may include an attribution to the translator) is shared alike. This paragraph is part of the paper and must be included when copying or translating the paper.

The risk grid is Copyright © 2009 Andrew Katz, Amanda Brock, Malcolm Bain. It is licensed under a Creative Commons UK (England and Wales) 2.0 licence, no derivative works, attribution, CC-BY-ND. As a special exception, the authors expressly permit faithful translations of the entire document into any language, provided that the resulting translation (which may include an attribution to the translator) is shared alike. The wording in column E of the Risk Grid (”Sample Wording”) may be used for any purpose, without restriction, and without attribution. This paragraph is part of the Risk Grid, and must be included when copying or translating the Risk Grid.