NYC LOCAL: Thursday 17 September 2009 UNIGROUP: James E. Hanft on Copyright and Copyleft Open Source Software Licensing

[secretary]

<blockquote
  what="official UNIGROUP announcement"
  rsvp="registration requested, see below"
  entrance-fee="yes, see http://www.unigroup.org/unigroup-fees.html";
  location="The Cooper Union School of Engineering, see below"
  info="http://www.unigroup.org";
  edits="some paragraphs removed so notice fits in mailboxen">

 Date: Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:24:40 -0400 (EDT)
 From: Unigroup_of_NY <unilist@unigroup.org>
 Subject: Reminder: UNIGROUP Meeting 17-SEP-2009 (Thu): Copyright & Copyleft 
Open Source Software Licensing
 Status: R
 X-Status: 

 Unigroup is THIS Thursday... Please RSVP now!
 (and tell your friends too)...

 ======================================================================
 UNIGROUP OF NEW YORK - UNIX USERS GROUP - SEPTEMBER 2009 ANNOUNCEMENTS
 ======================================================================

    ----------------------------------------
 1. UNIGROUP'S SEPTEMBER 2009 MEETING NOTICE
    ----------------------------------------

       When:  THURSDAY, September 17th, 2009    (** 3rd Thursday **)

      Where:  The Cooper Union  <http://www.cooper.edu>
              School of Engineering  (*** New Building ***)
              41 Cooper Square  (3rd Avenue, between 6th & 7th Streets)
              East Village, Manhattan
              New York City
              Meeting Room: 104
              ** Please RSVP **

       Time:  6:15 PM - 6:30 PM  Registration
              6:30 PM - 6:45 PM  Ask the Wizard, Questions,
                                 Answers and Current Events
              6:45 PM - 7:00 PM  Unigroup Business and Announcements
              7:00 PM - 9:30 PM  Main Presentation

              -----------------------------------------------------
      Topic:  Copyright and Copyleft Open Source Software Licensing
              -----------------------------------------------------

    Speaker:  James E. Hanft,
              Intellectual Property Attorney,
              Darby & Darby P.C.  <http://www.darbylaw.com>

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

    INTRODUCTION:
    -------------

    Unigroup's September 2009 meeting will be our first meeting at
    Cooper Union's new Engineering building, which is located on the
    East side of Cooper Square and 1-2 blocks South-East of the old
    Engineering building (which is now closed).

    This building is brand new (just opened weeks ago), and as such,
    various construction is still underway, as everyone there gets
    things ready for the current school semester.

    Unigroup is thankful that our sponsors at Cooper Union were able
    to take some time and find us meeting space for September, given
    everything that is happening over there right now.

    Unigroup's September 2009 meeting will be a legal talk concerning
    Software Intellectual Property, focusing on Copyright and Copyleft
    Licensing (eg. Closed Source vs Open Source vs GPL vs BSD licensing).
    We are very pleased to have James Hanft, an Intellectual Property
    Attorney from Darby & Darby P.C., as our speaker this month.

    Upcoming Unigroup meetings:
      15-OCT-2009: To-be-announced.
      19-NOV-2009: To-be-announced.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

    SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
    ---------------------

    To REGISTER for this event, please RSVP by using the Unigroup
    Registration Page:
          http://www.unigroup.org/unigroup-rsvp.html

    This will allow us to automate the registration process.
    (Registration will also add you to our mailing list.)
    Please avoid emailed RSVPs.

    Please continue to check the Unigroup web site and meeting page,
    for any last minute updates concerning this meeting.  If you
    registered for this meeting, please check your email for any last
    minute announcements as the meeting approaches.  Also make sure
    any anti-spam white-lists are updated to _ALLOW_ Unigroup traffic!
    If you block Unigroup Emails, your address will be dropped from
    our mailing list.

    Also, if you have an interest in Unigroup, be sure to receive
    Unigroup information DIRECTLY from Unigroup, via direct receipt
    of Emails and by visiting the Unigroup Web Site.  NO OTHER SOURCE
    provides timely, accurate and complete Unigroup information.

    Please RSVP as soon as possible, preferably at least 2-3 days
    prior to the meeting date, so we can plan the food order.
    RSVP deadline is usually the night before the meeting day.

    Note: RSVP is requested for this location to make sure the guard
          will let you into the building.  RSVP also helps us to
          properly plan the meeting (food, drinks, handouts,
          seating, etc.) and speed up your sign-in at the meeting.
          If you forget to RSVP prior to the meeting day, you may
          still be able to show up and attend our meeting, however,
          we cannot guarantee what building security will do if
          you are "not on the list".

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

    MAIN PRESENTATION
    -----------------

    Topic: Copyright and Copyleft Open Source Software Licensing

    Introduction:

    The presentation will cover software licensing and, in particular,
    the basis for copyleft licensing, its uses and its interaction with
    proprietary software.  The presentation will start with the basics
    of intellectual property, emphasizing issues relating to copyrights
    and licensing of software.  Next discussed is the legal basis for
    copyleft licensing and the differences between strong copylefts,
    weak copylefts and permissive licenses.  Different copylefts will
    be analyzed including GNU, BSD, Mozilla, MIT and other general
    and/or limited licenses.  The presentation will then cover the
    compatibility/incompatibility/interaction of these licenses with
    proprietary software.  Finally, the discussion will cover the
    enforceability of other forms of protection such as open source
    promises, standards setting organizations and licensing provisions
    relating to other forms of intellectual property.  Questions may
    be asked at any time.

    Detailed Outline:

    I.   Basics For Intellectual Property Rights
         A.  Different Forms, Definitions and Differences Between Them
             1.  Patents
             2.  Copyrights
             3.  Trademarks
             4.  Trade Secrets
             5.  Licenses
         B.  Applicability to Software

    II.  Copyright Law in Software
         A.  Definition of a Copyright
         B.  Potential Coverage of Copyright In Software
         C.  Infringement of A Copyright In Software
         D.  Derivative Works
             1.  Definition
             2.  Existence of Derivative-Work Copyright
         E.  First Sale Doctrine
         F.  Fair Use Doctrine

    III. Licensing Basics
         A.  Rights That Can Be Licensed (Copyrights, Patents,
             Trade Secrets, Know-How, Materials, etc.)
         B.  Requirements For A License
         C.  Different Types of Licenses

    IV.  Protection of Access to Software
         A.  Definitions Of Software Access
             1.  Public Domain Software
             2.  Copyright Protected Software:
                 Proprietary and Copyleft
             3.  Enforcement of Rights Provided By Copyleft
         B.  Types of CopyLeft Licenses
             1.  GNU General Public License
             2.  GNU Lesser General Public License
             3.  Creative Commons (ShareAlike)
             4.  BSD LICENSE
             5.  Mozilla Public License
             6.  MIT License
             7.  Apache License
         C.  Choices/Differences and Conflicts Between Licenses
             1.  Consistency Between Licenses (eg. GNU GPL
                 versions, Mozilla, etc.)
             2.  Choice of Appropriate License
             3.  Use of GNU Licensed Libraries/Resources
         D.  Conflicts with Proprietary Uses
             1.  Tivoization
             2.  Permissive Licenses/Weak CopyLefts/Strong Copylefts
             3.  Incorporating Copyleft Software Into Proprietary
                 Programs

    V.   Software Patents Versus Free Software Community
         A.  Standard Setting organizations
         B.  Open Promises

    VI.  Further Reading And Questions
         A.  URLs to various topics
         B.  Other References


    Web Resources:
    --------------

    Darby & Darby P.C.
      http://www.darbylaw.com

    US Copyright Office
      http://www.copyright.gov

    US Patent and Trademark Office
      http://www.uspto.gov

    GNU Licenses Web Site (nice listing of many open source licenses)
      http://www.gnu.org/licenses
      http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

    Speaker Biography:
    ------------------

    JAMES E. HANFT has represented a broad range of clients from
    Fortune 100 companies to individuals.  He works closely with these
    clients to develop strategies that are tailored to meet the client's
    objectives and needs.  Mr. Hanft has litigated numerous cases and
    counsels clients for their day-to-day intellectual property matters
    by providing litigation-related insights into determining
    patentability of potential inventions, authoring original
    applications, providing opinions of counsel, and developing and
    drafting complex licensing arrangements for his clients' portfolios.

    In providing practical and cost-effective strategies for clients,
    Mr. Hanft draws on his technical background, including his B.S. in
    Electrical and Computer Engineering with a concentration in digital
    electronics and software, and his experience as an engineer at one
    of the world's leading technology companies.  Since joining Darby,
    Mr. Hanft has extended his technical expertise to include
    electronics, computer hardware, computer software, mechanical
    processes, medical devices, and business methods.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

    Company Biography:
    ------------------

    For more than 115 years, Darby & Darby P.C. has provided full-service
    intellectual property counsel to clients around the world.  As one of
    the oldest U.S. intellectual property firms, Darby has long been an
    important player in pioneering and precedent-setting IP matters.
    Darby attorneys hold advanced technical degrees and have
    distinguished academic credentials with scientific expertise.  Clients
    include private and public corporations, government agencies, academic
    institutions, individuals and non-profit organizations.  Darby
    attorneys act as intellectual property strategists, counseling clients
    on how to maximize the value of their patents, trademarks, copyrights
    and trade secrets.  Intellectual property is not only a creative
    asset; it is often a crucial business asset.  Darby's founders
    recognized this by developing a firm whose attorneys not only know the
    law and science, but understand business.  Today through continued
    commitment to this principle, Darby is internationally recognized as
    a firm that applies extensive legal and technological expertise to the
    economic benefit of its clients.

    For more information, please visit: http://www.darbylaw.com

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

    Giveaways:
    ----------

    Addison-Wesley Professional/Prentice Hall PTR, and O'Reilly have
    been kind enough to provide us with review copies of some of their
    books, which we will continue to raffle off as giveaways at our
    meetings.  The publishers always ask that the persons receiving
    the books provide a review and/or feedback about their books.

    Unigroup would like to thank both companies for the support
    provided by their User Group programs.

    Note: The chances tend to be about 1 in 5, that any attendee of
    our meeting will walk away with a fairly valuable giveaway
    (ie. most books are valued between $30 and $60)!

    As always, all of the books will be available for review at the
    start of the meeting.

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

 < ... />

    Directions:
    -----------

      The Cooper Union  <http://www.cooper.edu>
      School of Engineering  (*** New Building ***)
      41 Cooper Square (3rd Avenue, between 6th & 7th Streets)
      East Village, Manhattan
      New York City
      Meeting Room: 104

    Located on the East side of Cooper Square.  Look for the
    new building with the non-traditional appearance.
    Entrance is at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 7 Street.

    Building lobby sign-in is required at the guard's desk.
    Enter the building, check in with the guard at the lobby for
      directions to Unigroup and Room 104 (1st Floor).

    Nearest mass transit stations are:
      '6'           to Astor Place (stops right at The Cooper Union),
                    then walk 1 block East and 1 block South.
      'R'           to 8th Street, then walk about 2 blocks East
                    then 1 block South.
      '4/5/6/R/N/Q' to Union Square, then walk South and East.
      'B/D/F/V'     to Broadway-Lafayette, then walk North and East.

    Free street parking in the area becomes available at 6pm.

    There are also parking lots on Broadway, at (or just south of)
      Astor Place (8th Street).

    -----

    Please mark this meeting on your calendar and join us!
    Please tell your friends about Unigroup!

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 < ... />

    --------------------
 5. UNIGROUP INFORMATION
    --------------------

    Unigroup is one of the oldest and largest Unix User's Groups serving
    the Greater New York City Regional Area since the early 1980s.
    Unigroup is a not-for-profit, vendor-neutral and member funded
    volunteer organization.  Unigroup holds regular and special event
    meetings throughout the year on technical topics relating to Unix
    and the Unix/Linux/BSD User Community.

    Unigroup holds regular meetings planned for (at a minimum) the Third
    THURSDAY of Odd Months.  We generally try to hold Field Trip or
    Vendor Specific Meetings on the Even Months, although we do have the
    ability to hold monthly meetings at our regular meeting location.

    Planned regular meeting dates are (usually 3rd Thursdays):
      9/17/2009, 10/15/2009, 11/19/2009, 1/21/2010, ...
    Also watch for Special Event meetings and "Field Trips" to the
    facilities of local hardware and software vendors.

    =========================================================================
    = For Unigroup Information, Events and Meeting Announcements be sure to =
    = visit our World Wide Web Home Page:                                   =
    =       http://www.unigroup.org                                         =
    =========================================================================

    For further information or to get on the Unigroup Electronic Mail Mailing
    List send an EMail message to:
         unilist (-a_t-) unigroup.org

    To contact the Board of Directors of Unigroup, send an EMail message to:
         uniboard (-a_t-) unigroup.org

    If you have recently attended a meeting and you are not receiving
    Email announcements, please send us an Email and we will make
    corrections to our lists.

    Please Email the Board with any suggestions, especially potential
    meeting topics and speakers.  Unigroup welcomes contributions and
    content suggestions for our newsletter.  Unigroup is a volunteer
    organization and we need your assistance!  Please let us know if you
    can help!

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 -Rob Weiner
  Unigroup Executive Director
  unilist (-a_t-) unigroup.org
  http://www.unigroup.org
    
</blockquote>


Distributed poC TINC:

Jay Sulzberger <secretary@lxny.org>
Corresponding Secretary LXNY
LXNY is New York's Free Computing Organization.
http://www.lxny.org