Open source gets own legal pow wows

The Linux Foundation, custodian of the Linux trademark, has announced two summits to deal with legal issues surrounding Linux and open-source software.

Attendance at the first summit will be restricted to members of the Linux Foundation and their legal counsel. Attendees will focus on building a legal defense structure for Linux and policies designed to support intellectual property rights within open development.

The summit will be held in Boston on 25 and 26 October.

The second summit - an open meeting - will be held in autumn 2008 and legal experts from any background will be able to attend. The summit will provide practical legal guidance on the development and distribution of open-source software and allow attendees to collaborate on issues including licensing and patents. The summit is expected to become an annual event.

"Many of today's legal conferences unnecessarily scare or confuse open-source users, developers and vendors," Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, said in a statement.

"The LF [Linux Foundation] is able to provide a forum in which it can bring together its members' legal counsel as well as its own legal team to translate issues into the straightforward matters they really are and to bring practical education to a wider audience," the statement said.

The Linux Foundation was created in 2007 by the merger of the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group. It sponsors the work of Linux founder Linus Torvalds and counts companies such as Google, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel and Novell among its members.

Chris Duckett writes for Builder AU.