Theoretical No More: Blockchain Technology, Cryptocurrencies and the Tax, Legal and Business Implications
Podcast: Blockchain Intellectual Property Considerations for Innovators and Investors
With decades of experience assisting nonprofit clients with copyright issues, we periodically like to offer refreshers on key copyright issues and highlight current trends we see nonprofit organizations encounter with...more
GPL (General Public License) is one of the widely used licenses for open-source software. GPL requires derivative code based on GPL open-source code to also be distributed under GPL, ensuring open-source availability. This...more
Many generative AI systems are very good at writing code, and developers increasingly use them to develop high-quality software faster and more efficiently than they could without these systems. But companies must take...more
In our prior post in this two-part series on less commonly discussed technology commercialization options, we addressed how open-source software (OSS) providers may make money on their products. In this Part 2, we’ll look at...more
While you were asking ChatGPT to create a 3-course menu for the upcoming book club you’re hosting or to explain the Rule Against Perpetuities, several federal government agencies announced initiatives related to the use of...more
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become an even hotter topic since the introduction of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by OpenAI, as well as tools like Copilot and OpenAI Codex, which use generative AI...more
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed a district court ruling that the asserted nonliteral elements of a software program were not copyright protectable, in part, because allegedly copied materials...more
Chatbots and other types of “generative AI”—AI that creates consumable content such as computer code, text responses, images, or music—have catapulted to the center of the AI discussion. In this episode, partners Rich Assmus...more
Starting a high-tech company is a difficult, exhausting, and thrilling endeavor – one in which founders will face seemingly endless challenges, deadlines, and make or break decisions. From a venture’s inception, founders face...more
Open-source software is different from traditional, licensed software, and some developers might want to be careful about how they use open-source platforms. AI has complicated matters further, and developers need to be aware...more
As previously reported in this space, the Court of Appeal for the Federal Circuit has ruled that an AI machine cannot be an inventor because it is not a “natural person.” You can read those posts here and here. Issues...more
Various types of intellectual property (IP) can provide companies protection of innovations and maintain or expand competitive advantages. For companies that operate using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technologies and/or...more
Used properly, Open Source Software (OSS) is an excellent tool. It saves your business time and money, enables interoperability of product platforms, and developers love it. But used improperly, it can be financially and...more
Nach dem Bundestag hat am 28.05.2021 nunmehr auch der Bundesrat den Gesetzesentwurf zur Anpassung des Urheberrechts an die Erfordernisse des digitalen Binnenmarktes mit der erforderlichen Mehrheit verabschiedet. Die...more
Non-profit organizations often use third-party images, photos, videos, or software in their everyday operations. It is often beneficial to leverage such materials that are licensed under “open licenses” because they are free...more
Despite the fact that open source or so-called “free” software has been available for more than 30 years, and is likely used in the vast majority of software programs being developed today, many people remain confused as to...more
What is open-source software? To ask the question is almost to answer it. Open source software (OSS) simply describes software code that is distributed on an “open-source” basis – which means, in a way that allows others to...more
The number of different open source licenses is growing and the variation in their terms and complexity is increasing. A number of licenses that appear to be, or are commonly referred to as “open source” do not actually meet...more
The chances are high that your company uses open source software (“OSS”) in some capacity. While the benefits of OSS are clear, it is also clear that OSS can pose significant legal risks that must be addressed. The best way...more
USPTO Issues CBD Trademark Guidelines in Light of the 2018 Farm Bill: Key Takeaways - On May 2, 2019, the USPTO released its new guidelines on how it will examine federal trademark applications for CBD products in light of...more
The plot has thickened in the longest-running “whodunit” in the blockchain space: Who is Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin and author of the white paper that started it all, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer...more
Many companies are now aware that if they incorporate open-source software into their products, there are specific terms and conditions that go along with the grant of the use of the particular OSS that are spelled out in...more
FinTech companies beware: your use of code that was originally developed via open-source methods may not be shielded from future copyright infringement claims by the fair use doctrine. Recently, in Oracle America, Inc. v....more
Despite the prevalence of open source software and its ubiquitous use in the software industry, there has been little litigation in the United States analyzing and interpreting the terms of open source licenses. On April 25,...more
A recent federal district court decision denied a motion to dismiss a complaint brought by Artifex Software Inc. (“Artifex”) for breach of contract and copyright infringement claims against Defendant Hancom, Inc. based on...more