Managing Rights Management

GPLv3 Draft - Ed Walsh on the Anti-Microsoft-Novell provisions

To say that the anti-Microsoft-Novell provisions of the draft GPLv3 are controversial is a major understatement. I asked Ed Walsh, an attorney at Wolf Greenfield & Sacks whose practice includes advising on issues relating to open source licensing, about paragraphs 4 and 5 of section 11 (Patents) of the GPLv3.... Read more →

GPLv3 Draft - License or Contract

The latest discussion draft of the GNU General Public License has been strongly criticized for its position on the Microsoft-Novell deal in which Microsoft agreed not to assert whatever patent rights it might have. The Association for Competitive Technology has published white papers extremely critical of the new draft. These... Read more →

Recently Published Patent Applications

Every Thursday, the US Patent and Trademark Office publishes pending patent applications. Publication has no bearing on whether a patent will eventually be issued based on the application. Still, issued patents and published applications are often indicators of what people have been thinking about and the kinds of things that... Read more →

GPLV3 Draft - One Attorney's Opinion

I asked Ed Walsh, an attorney whose specialties include open source software licensing, about current discussion draft of the GPLv3 license. Ed is an attorney with well-respected IP law firm Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks. Here's what he told me: A summary of the way this draft balances concerns of competing... Read more →

Blu-ray leading HD-DVD

The Hollywood Report says that Blu-ray disc sales are ahead of HD-DVD: Of the high-definition discs bought by consumers in the first quarter, 70% were in the Blu-ray Disc format and 30% were HD DVD, according to sales figures provided by Home Media Magazine's market research department.... What's more, when... Read more →

Recently Issued Patents

The US Patent Office issues new patents on Tuesdays. Issued patents and published applications may be early indicators of the kinds of issues being addressed by inventors and/or the companies for whom they work. Assigned to Phocis Limited, today's patent deals generally with rights management. 7,210,039, Digital rights management, assigned... Read more →

GPLv3 Draft - Firestorm of Criticism

The third discussion draft from the Free Software Foundation of the GNU General Public License v. 3 (GPLv3) has been out for a few weeks. This draft has ignited a firestorm of criticism by some who object to language in this draft intended to prevent deals such as that between... Read more →

Norwegian Political Party Seeks to Abolish DRM

Infoworld and other outlets reports that Norway's liberal party, Venstre, approved a resolution on Sunday seeking, among other things, to limit technologies, such as DRM, that limit how consumers can use and distribute legally purchased digital music or software. "We have a unique opportunity in the world to distribute culture,... Read more →

Vista DRM could hide malware

Several outlets including this ZDNet article are reporting that Alex Lonescu has posted a program on his blog that shows how Vista's protected processes can be used in to compromise systems. "The fact that the DRM within Vista presents a mechanism through which code may attempt to restrict what other... Read more →

Recently Published Patent Applications

Every Thursday, the US Patent and Trademark Office publishes pending patent applications. Publication has no bearing on whether a patent will eventually be issued based on the application. Still, issued patents and published applications are often indicators of what people have been thinking about and the kinds of things that... Read more →