The General Public License Version 3.0: Making or Breaking the FOSS Movement

Free and open source software (FOSS) is a big deal. FOSS has become an undeniably important element for businesses and the global economy in general, as companies increasingly use it internally and attempt to monetize it. Governments have even gotten into the act, as a recent study notes that FOSS plays a critical role in the US Department of Defense\u27s systems. Others have pushed for the adoption of FOSS to help third-world countries develop. Given many of its technological and developmental advantages, FOSS\u27s use, adoption, and development are only projected to grow.[...] The FSF created the most popular version of the GPL, GPL Version 2.0 (GPLv2), in 1991, but since then many technological changes have occurred that, according to the FSF, have rendered GPLv2 outdated. Consequently, the FSF recently underwent a process to revise GPLv2. Version 3 of the GPL (GPLv3), published on June 29, 2007, is the final product of that process.[...] The GNU General Public License (GPL), created by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) to govern the use of many FOSS projects, is also a big deal. Though the dispersed development of FOSS makes calculating the percentage of FOSS projects licensed under GPL difficult, some accounts suggest that the percentage is quite high. It is certainly the most well-known and most frequently used FOSS license. Like FOSS, the GPL is here to stay.[...] [T]wo camps within the FOSS world have emerged to articulate their stances on GPLv3. These two camps are the same two groups that have been at odds over FOSS development since at least 1998: the Free Software Foundation (FSF) on the one hand, and those more closely aligned with the Open Source Initiative\u27s (OSI) approach to FOSS development on the other. The FSF maintains an almost religious adherence to certain ethical tenets of free software doctrine, while OSI adherents are more pragmatic about their approach to FOSS development. GPLv3, and especially the DRM and patent provisions, highlights some of these two groups\u27 differences in philosophy. Some also fret that GPLv3 may ultimately foreshadow the dissolution of their uneasy compromise. This Article proceeds as follows. Section II details the philosophical differences between the FSF and OSI and what these differences have meant to FOSS licensing, and FOSS development in general, until now. Section III details the DRM and patent changes provided in GPLv3 and discusses both sides\u27 reactions to those changes. It then examines what these GPLv3 changes, and the reactions from both parties, could mean for FOSS licensing and development in the future. Section IV concludes by recapping some of the main findings of this study. This Article\u27s thesis is that the two parties\u27 differences pale in comparison to their commonalities, and that GPLv3, despite its possible problem areas, will be an effective means for dealing with two growing problems that threaten the FOSS world. GPLv3 may add new social and legal complications to FOSS development, but, as with GPLv2, GPLv3\u27s unifying potential is greater than its possible balkanizing effects. In the end, GPLv3 is a calculated risk worth taking

Software\u27s Copyright Anticommons

Scholars have long assessed “anticommons” problems in creative and innovative environments. An anticommons develops when an asset has numerous rights holders, each of which has a right to prevent use of the asset, but none of which has a right to use the asset without authorization from the other rights holders. Hence, when any one of those rights holders uses its rights in ways that inhibit use of the common asset, an anticommons may result.In the software world, scholars have long argued that anticommons problems arise, if at all, because of patent rights. Copyright, on the other hand, has not been viewed as a significant source of anticommons problems. But this Article argues that copyright is an increasingly significant cause of anticommons concerns in the software context for at least two related reasons. First, the increasingly collaborative nature of much modern software innovation means that any given software resource is subject to dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of distinct copyright interests, each of which can ultimately hamper use of the software resource. While collaborative innovation licensing models help reduce the threat of any given copyright holder restricting use of the software resource, these licensing models do not altogether eliminate such risks and, in fact, actually create risks of holdup and underuse that have previously received less attention than they are due. Second, interoperability needs in the growing “Internet of Things” and “cloud” economies demand sharing and reuse of software for these ecosystems to work. Yet because these technological ecosystems implicate thousands of different parties with distinct copyright interests in their software, the threat of any one of those parties ultimately using its rights in ways that inhibit the successful development and use of the Internet of Things and cloud economies looms large. In order to illustrate some of these anticommons problems in practice, this Article examines a recent high-profile software copyright dispute between Oracle and Google.As a possible solution to these types of problems, this Article assesses the merits of more explicitly adapting copyright’s fair use defense to the collaborative and interconnected nature of modern software innovation. The Article concludes by arguing that copyright disputes in other fields of creativity characterized by collaborative, interconnected development may also merit such fair use adaptations. Otherwise, anticommons problems may increasingly affect those fields as well

Incorporating Agile with MDA Case Study: Online Polling System

Nowadays agile software development is used in greater extend but for small organizations only, whereas MDA is suitable for large organizations but yet not standardized. In this paper the pros and cons of Model Driven Architecture (MDA) and Extreme programming have been discussed. As both of them have some limitations and cannot be used in both large scale and small scale organizations a new architecture has been proposed. In this model it is tried to opt the advantages and important values to overcome the limitations of both the software development procedures. In support to the proposed architecture the implementation of it on Online Polling System has been discussed and all the phases of software development have been explained.Comment: 14 pages,1 Figure,1 Tabl

Once and Future Copyright

Copyright is like a well-meaning but ultimately bothersome friend, eager to help but nearly impossible to get rid of. It attaches indiscriminately to the simplest acts of expression, without regard for whether the author needs or wants its protection. This automatic propertization made sense in the print era, when mass distribution of information was an expensive process rarely undertaken by those with no plans to profit from their creativity. It makes little sense today. The following article shows that copyright\u27s overly solicitous nature is the source of several seemingly unrelated and intractable problems - e.g., closed code, copyright as censorship, technological hegemony - that have resulted from trying to fit the digital peg of computer technology into the analog hole of copyright law. The common solution to these problems involves a purposefully retrograde approach that cures their twenty-first-century ills using nineteenth-century tools: copyright\u27s antiquated formalities. Resurrecting publication, notice, registration, and deposit as threshold requirements for copyright protection prevents authors and publishers from achieving technologically what they do not merit legally, while at the same time ensuring that copyright does not apply in contexts where it is neither necessary nor useful

Analysis of Institutional Repository Software for Knowledge Management in Universities

Introduction: Institutional Repositories (IR) as an element of great relevance in the processes of organization, dissemination, research and preservation of information. These processes are carried out freely and free of charge following the premises of the Open Access (OA) movement, which allow applying elements of interoperability, access, and long-term preservation of universal access to information. Objective: The research has a descriptive scope and will be developed through the use of the analytical and comparative method. In the analytical phase, it is intended to carry out an exhaustive collection and review of information, which allows characterizing the use of the software, this information will access to delimit the use of the different DLMS worldwide. Method: This study, framed in a descriptive investigation, reveals the main characteristics of usability, use of metadata and interoperability of digital library management systems. Results: Regarding the benefits that can be determined with the implementation of one of the two DLMS evaluated, they are, mainly, to improve the experience and satisfaction of visitors to the IR and to achieve greater communication and feedback with the user, this by making use of communication channels offered by the IR. Conclusions: Any organization or institution can use the inputs and data obtained from this research as a reference guide to determine which system is best to create and display their digital collections. The choice generally depends on the type/format of the material, the distribution of the material, the software platform and the time frame for the establishment of the digital library.Introducción: Los Repositorios Institucionales (RI) como un elemento de gran relevancia en los procesos de organización, difusión, investigación y preservación de la información. Dichos procesos se realizan de forma libre y gratuita siguiendo las premisas del movimiento Open Access (OA), que permitan aplicar elementos de interoperabilidad, acceso, y preservación a largo plazo el acceso universal a la información. Objetivo: La investigación tiene un alcance descriptivo y será desarrollada mediante el uso del método analítico y comparativo. En la fase analítica se pretende realizar una recolección y revisión exhaustiva de información, que permita caracterizar el uso del software, esta información accederá a delimitar el uso de los diferentes DLMS a nivel mundial. Metodología: Este estudio, enmarcado en una investigación descriptiva, da a conocer las principales características que presenta la usabilidad, uso de metadatos e interoperabilidad de los sistemas de gestión de bibliotecas digitales. Resultados: En cuanto a los beneficios que se pueden determinar con la implementación de alguno de los dos DLMS evaluados, están, principalmente, mejorar la experiencia y satisfacción de los visitantes a los RI y Lograr una mayor comunicación y feedback con el usuario, esto haciendo uso de los canales de comunicación que ofrezca el RI. Conclusiones: Cualquier organización o institución puede utilizar los insumos y datos obtenidos de esta investigación como guía de referencia para determinar qué sistema es mejor para crear y mostrar sus colecciones digitales. La elección generalmente depende del tipo/formato del material, la distribución del material, la plataforma de software y el marco de tiempo para el establecimiento de la biblioteca digital

To equip tomorrow\u27s cybersecurity experts, we\u27ll need an open approach

An open approach to training the next generation of cybersecurity experts can fully equip them to combat a constantly shifting threat landscape

A theory-grounded framework of Open Source Software adoption in SMEs

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in European Journal of Information Systems. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Macredie, RD and Mijinyawa, K (2011), "A theory-grounded framework of Open Source Software adoption in SMEs", European Journal of Informations Systems, 20(2), 237-250 is available online at: http://www.palgrave-journals.com/ejis/journal/v20/n2/abs/ejis201060a.html.The increasing popularity and use of Open Source Software (OSS) has led to significant interest from research communities and enterprise practitioners, notably in the small business sector where this type of software offers particular benefits given the financial and human capital constraints faced. However, there has been little focus on developing valid frameworks that enable critical evaluation and common understanding of factors influencing OSS adoption. This paper seeks to address this shortcoming by presenting a theory-grounded framework for exploring these factors and explaining their influence on OSS adoption, with the context of study being small- to medium-sized Information Technology (IT) businesses in the U.K. The framework has implications for this type of business – and, we will suggest, more widely – as a frame of reference for understanding, and as tool for evaluating benefits and challenges in, OSS adoption. It also offers researchers a structured way of investigating adoption issues and a base from which to develop models of OSS adoption. The study reported in this paper used the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) as a basis for the research propositions, with the aim of: (i) developing a framework of empirical factors that influence OSS adoption; and (ii) appraising it through case study evaluation with 10 U.K. Small- to medium-sized enterprises in the IT sector. The demonstration of the capabilities of the framework suggests that it is able to provide a reliable explanation of the complex and subjective factors that influence attitudes, subjective norms and control over the use of OSS. The paper further argues that the DTPB proved useful in this research area and that it can provide a variety of situation-specific insights related to factors that influence the adoption of OSS