The MIT license is a permissive open source license that originated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology back in the 1980s. Currently, MIT is the second most popular among all OSS licenses, lagging behind Apache 2.0 with a narrow margin (30% usage for Apache 2.0 vs 26% usage for MIT based on data from WhiteSource).…Continue reading
The Apache License 2.0
The Apache license 2.0 is one of the most popular permissive OSS licenses. There are many examples of prominent software products and successful projects licensed under Apache 2.0. The list includes Kubernetes (the famous open source system for deployment and management of containerized apps), the majority of the Android mobile platform and its documentation, Apache…Continue reading
Open Source Software – The Challenges
After analyzing the numerous benefits offered by open source technology in our previous article, we will now focus our attention on the potential drawbacks that you should be aware of when OSS is used in a business setting. Being fully cognizant of those is crucial when you have to provide legal advice to key stakeholders.…Continue reading
Open Source Software – The Advantages
When formulating and communicating legal advice to business stakeholders in a technological setting it is very important to be fully aware of the advantages and disadvantages presented by the use of open source software (OSS) products. OSS solutions can be highly beneficial for both internal use within an organization as well as integration or linking…Continue reading
Source Code as a concept
There are two technical terms that you will often encounter when going through the pages of a software licensing agreement or a software development agreement. These are source code and object code. Nevertheless, before elucidating those concepts of source code and object code, it would make sense to first clarify what software is. Like many…Continue reading
Main types of IT agreements
In this first installment of Tips on Tech Contracts we will focus our attention on some of the most common types of information technology agreements – software licenses and IPR assignments, cloud agreements, professional services and managed services agreements and hardware agreements. Software licensing agreements and IPR assignments At the core of each software…Continue reading
Google v Oracle and the copyrightability of APIs
On 5th of April 2021 the US Supreme Court handed down its decision on the decade long legal battle between Oracle and Google regarding the copying of code from the Java API. This article will present a summary of the case as well as an analysis of its outcome and some additional thoughts on the copyrightability…Continue reading
Preparatory software materials and the scope of their protection under copyright
In its embryonic stage every computer program was just an idea. There are many stories of creative geniuses who not only came up with the idea for a given software but also turned that idea themselves into a successful product that was eventually placed on the market. However, quite often what happens in reality has…Continue reading
Liability for trademark infringement in digital marketing
In recent decades commercial marketing has evolved significantly. Part of that evolution is largely related to a specific shift in the way of reaching the customer audience. In this sense, advertising has started to slide away from the grounds of traditional media and is now increasing its focus on the media of the new millennium…Continue reading
Legal protection of designs
The visual appeal of a product plays a key role for its potential commercial success. Brands such as Apple and Alfa Romeo are a clear example how the design of a product can be used to elicit an emotional response from the consumer that could ultimately result in a purchasing decision. All this goes to…Continue reading
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