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Version 3 of the GNU General Public License: Major Changes for Open Source Software Licensing
The Free Software Foundation ('FSF') this summer published the final, official new version of the GNU General Public License, GPLv3. The new version is the result of extensive public comment and heated debate, and could have far-reaching effects on the use of open source software. GPLv3 is the successor to GPL version 2 (GPLv2), first published in 1991, used extensively today, and among the most popular open source licenses available.
GPLv3's key changes include:
- A new approach to patents, including an explicit patent license and a patent non-assertion clause,
- A new requirement that companies conveying GPL-covered code in 'user products' provide the information necessary to install modified versions on those products (a.k.a. 'anti-tivoization'),
- A new approach to digital rights management ('DRM'), including an express waiver of anti-circumvention rights, and
- New language implementing the GPL's 'viral effect,' affecting when it applies and what is required.
New Terms for Patents
Responding to what it calls the 'unwise and ill-considered application of patent law to software' in the years since it released GPLv2, the FSF includes in GPLv3 provisions focused on patents that address in different ways the patents of: 1) entities that modify or otherwise contribute to software that is covered by the GPL, 2) entities that distribute GPL-covered software (whether or not they also modify or otherwise contribute to the software), and 3) non-contributing, non-distributing entities that enter into patent-related agreements with contributors or distributors. See Free Software Foundation, GPLv3 First Discussion Draft Rationale, p.3, at http://gplv3.fsf.org/gpl-rationale-2006-01-16.html.
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Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?