Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Anytime/Web - Trademarks and Open Source Licenses

Trademarks have come to play an increasingly important role in the open source community. While it may seem that the strict control required by trademark laws would be inconsistent with the freedoms preserved by the open source licenses, trademarks actually are an integral part of the rights which will make open source software successful. Moreover, companies and communities can protect their valuable trademarks in a manner consistent with open source principles and to the benefit to developers and users of open source software alike.
We will discuss how open source projects can use both trademark and copyright law to build their communities while preserving software freedoms.
BlackDuck Factoids: While all open source projects come with licensing agreements that define the terms and conditions for the use of the copyrighted software, such licenses only rarely specifically address the right to use the valuable trademarks that may be associated with the open source project. (Of the sixty five open source licenses approved by OSI, 22 are silent on trademarks, 23 prohibit the use of names or trademarks in endorsements, advertising or publicity. Finally, another 27 expressly exclude a grant of trademark rights with some licenses having more specific restrictions.) Some projects, but not many, include FAQs on trademark use or even provide a trademark use policy.
Credit:
Depends on jurisdiction. You may have to register this seminar for credit in your jurisdiction.
More Information & Registration:
http://www.blackducksoftware.com/form/70160000000IfEh
 
This is a recording of a webinar, and includes access to course materials.

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