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Intellectual Property and Open Source: A Practical Guide to Protecting Code

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Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc. Average Customer Rating: Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5Average rating of 4.5/5

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Intellectual Property and Open Source: A Practical Guide to Protecting Code

Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 070
EAN: 9780596517960
ISBN: 0596517963
Label: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 390
Publication Date: 2008-07-01
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Studio: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: Clear and complete
Comment: The author is both a programmer and a lawyer. That combination means that this is the ideal book for programmers as he regularly uses programming concepts to illustrate legal issues.

I really enjoyed this. The writing style is clear and very readable while imparting a lot of knowledge. I particularly enjoyed the explanation of patent details and that he used a real patent (Amazon's 1-click) as the example. I also liked the explanations of the strengths and weaknesses of the various open source licensing options.

There's a lot more here: advice for employees and budding entrepreneurs , reverse engineering (with multiple examples of real life projects) and more.


Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: Must read for developers, open source or not.
Comment: The first 8 chapters of the book, covering some history and the current state of intellectual property law in the US - should be read by anyone writing code in the United States - whether they work with Open Source or not.

As already mentioned, the language and examples are very understandable. The author obviously 'gets' both sides of this issue and can communicate in a way that resonates with his target audience. I learned a lot just working through the introductory material.

If one does intend to work with, use or contribute to open source software, those portions of the book are indispensable. There is just a ton of great advice and information.

I knocked this out while on vacation last week. I don't know that I've ever read all the way through a book about law before. It was extremely informative but not a burden to read.
Customer Rating: Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5Average rating of 3/5
Summary: Helpful book but maddening writing style
Comment: The content of the book is very useful information if you're involved with any sort of open source project. It covers pretty much any aspect of the law that could be relevant, patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, starting a non-profit organization, etc.

However, the author uses far too many contrived programming analogies to explain legal concepts. Many of them are very contrived (e.x. "this legal concepts has 3 components, x, y, and z, just like this programming concept has 3 components, a, b,c... see!?"). It's like the author thinks that legal concepts are incredibly difficult for non-lawyers to grasp, so he uses programming analogies to teach us dumb programmers about law. I feel like a kid being lectured to by adults.
Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
Summary: Good Organization and Great Writing
Comment: I was lucky enough to see this book in draft form, and even before the final spit-and-polish touches, it was a pleasure to read. The author has a real gift for metaphor; almost every chapter is organized around a vivid, memorable concept. He compares the format of a patent document to the ELF file format; he uses the secret recipe for the Flaming Moe to talk about trade secrets. The result is an introduction to IP law that's unusually fun to read.

But the clarity and verve of the writing doesn't detract from the book's main goal: showing the reader how the IP system works and affects open source software. The author has exercised very good judgment in paring down an immensely complicated body of law into an approachable set of important principles. The reader gets the big picture overview, a clear understanding of the truly important details, and a good sense of what else is out there and how to find out more. This book doesn't try to be a definitive reference or a dumbed-down sketch. Instead, it hits the sweet spot in between: informative and readable.
Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
Summary: The best legal book on open source I've read (and I've read them all)
Comment: I've been involved in open source and the software world for over 10 years now, and have read every book on open source and legal issues that has been written. This is by far the best.

Why? Because it lays out in clear, easy-to-understand language what open source means for the developer. You don't have to be a legal expert to grasp the principles laid out in the book. In fact, Lindberg walks the reader through commonly obtuse principles by analogizing to software principles that the reader will easily understand.

In addition, it's very well-written. Lindberg has an outstanding style that makes this readable. I won't say it's like reading Charles Dickens, but at times it really is that enjoyable.
  
Editorial Reviews:
"Clear, correct, and deep, this is a welcome addition to discussions of law and computing for anyone -- even lawyers!" -- Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the Stanford Center for Internet and Society

If you work in information technology, intellectual property is central to your job -- but dealing with the complexities of the legal system can be mind-boggling. This book is for anyone who wants to understand how the legal system deals with intellectual property rights for code and other content. You'll get a clear look at intellectual property issues from a developer's point of view, including practical advice about situations you're likely to encounter.

Written by an intellectual property attorney who is also a programmer, Intellectual Property and Open Source helps you understand patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and licenses, with special focus on the issues surrounding open source development and the GPL. This book answers questions such as:

How do open source and intellectual property work together? What are the most important intellectual property-related issues when starting a business or open source project? How should you handle copyright, licensing and other issues when accepting a patch from another developer? How can you pursue your own ideas while working for someone else? What parts of a patent should be reviewed to see if it applies to your work? When is your idea a trade secret? How can you reverse engineer a product without getting into trouble? What should you think about when choosing an open source license for your project?

Most legal sources are too scattered, too arcane, and too hard to read.Intellectual Property and Open Source is a friendly, easy-to-follow overview of the law that programmers, system administrators, graphic designers, and many others will find essential.
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