International Free and Open Source Software Law Review, Apr 7, 2009
Andrew Katz casts a critical eye over Fadi P. Deek and James A.M. McHugh's three-part study o... more Andrew Katz casts a critical eye over Fadi P. Deek and James A.M. McHugh's three-part study of open source principles and practice, assessing the relevance of the volume's research, and the merits of its balanced approach to introducing new software development models.
International Free and Open Source Software Law Review, 2016
Free and open source software (FOSS) is commonly made available to students in schools, but the s... more Free and open source software (FOSS) is commonly made available to students in schools, but the schools do not necessarily take a holistic approach to their provision of IT (including software) which takes into account the nature of FOSS. In particular, we have identified a number of contracts with which Swedish students who are provided with laptops by their schools are required to comply which set out conditions for the use of the laptops, and associated software and content. Many clauses in these contracts are legally incompatible with certain FOSS licences, or contain misconceptions about FOSS, licensing and culture. This paper explores the relationship between the contracts and FOSS licensing and culture, and suggests a number of resolutions to the contradictions and misconceptions, as well as considering related issues.
International Free and Open Source Software Law Review, Jun 17, 2010
Info This item is part of the Book Reviews section of IFOSS L. Rev. For more information, please ... more Info This item is part of the Book Reviews section of IFOSS L. Rev. For more information, please consult the relevant section policies statement. 'A "worthless book", "loathsome" and "among the worst books yet written about copyrights"': so said Thomas Sydnor 2 in his rant about William Patry's latest book. My view: Patry's book is beautifully written. His style is accessible and enjoyable. It is impeccably researched: it is well annotated. 3 It is generally restrained (although he does allow himself the occasional outburst from 1 Richard Stallman has found himself in favour of arguing against the Swedish Pirate Party's proposals to radically reduce the copyright term across the board, by instituting an increased term of copyright for free software, without which the GPL's ability to enforce software freedom would be severely curtailed. 2 Sydnor's organisation is called the "Progress and Freedom Foundation": a name which I hope I can assume sounds less ludicrous to American ears than to my British ones. Some of its supporters can be found here: http://www.pff.org/about/supporters.html and include Time Warner, Sony BMG and News International. 3 Almost inevitably, the book contains a few references using Wikipedia links. They are used appropriately (i.e. illustratively, or as a suggestion for further reading, rather than as definitive sources). I'm not at all sympathetic to the argument that wikipedia should never be quoted on the grounds that it is user-generated content and therefore unreliable. However, care needs to be taken when referring to Wikipedia, and I think that links should always be to the version of the Wiki page on the day that it was referenced, or at least there should be a comment in the note, such as www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Copland as accessed at 12.01 UTC on 1st April 2009, for example. This minor criticism does feed across to the use of other links: they often have the feel of having been cut and pasted from the address bar of the browser, and therefore may contain the reference variables generating the page in question, rather than a permalink, if one exists, to the page itself. This is more of an observation on the problems of creating persistent links to what may be an impersistent medium, than an indication of any fundamental problems with Patry's work.
As with any other open source field, there are countless far-reaching advantages in open hardware... more As with any other open source field, there are countless far-reaching advantages in open hardware licensing, as opposed to its proprietary counterpart. This paper takes the example of a low-cost portable mechanical ventilator design and considers the effect of the application of the three different variants of the newly-released CERN Open Hardware Licence Version 2. This paper considers the importance of licensing, and demonstrates how open hardware licensing can facilitate efficient further development of a project, improve its safety and reliability, and encourage collaboration. Most importantly, open hardware licensing allows anyone to freely use, study, modify and distribute improvements to project design, and make, sell or otherwise distribute products made to that design, making it a cost-effective means of developing and deploying the device throughout the world, from the most developed to the most vulnerable territories. Finally, this paper argues that open hardware licensing also encourages economic activity whilst it protects third-party intellectual property rights.
... This interface is designed to The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of Rashi Na... more ... This interface is designed to The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of Rashi Nagpal (research) and Kate Bray (editorial support). ... The sender is almost always a program as well, but may occasionally be a die-hard human hacker. ...
International Free and Open Source Software Law Review, Jun 12, 2012
Open hardware lags open source software in maturity. The two main licences assert a form of copyl... more Open hardware lags open source software in maturity. The two main licences assert a form of copyleft. This paper argues that copyleft's applicability to hardware is problematic, and concludes by proposing a simpler non-copyleft licence, based on Apache 2.0, for hardware.
As software as a service (SaaS) adoption increases in both the public and private sectors, so doe... more As software as a service (SaaS) adoption increases in both the public and private sectors, so does dependency on specific providers and technologies and the consequent danger of lock-in. This paper reports on how public sector organisations (PSOs) can, and should, avoid lock-in throughout the lifecycle (commissioning, deployment and decommissioning) of their deployment of the Microsoft Office 365 SaaS product (O365). We investigate how 33 PSOs address different lock-in effects, focussing on the City of Gothenburg, and show that none of the PSOs determined possible lock-in effects prior to implementation or were able to provide documented evidence that they would be able to independently access, process and maintain the digital assets processed by the SaaS solution after decommissioning. We also report on jurisdictional and data processing issues, with consequent impact on digital sovereignty.
European journal of law and technology, Nov 29, 2019
To develop software based on standards, developers will often require patent licences for the pat... more To develop software based on standards, developers will often require patent licences for the patents which impinge on those standards. This paper reports on an investigation into acquiring patent licences required to implement three specific formal standards in software, namely ISO 32000-1 (a standard based on PDF 1.7), ISO/IEC 29500 (Office Open XML), and ISO 20022 (a standard for international financial business communication). In particular, the licences were requested in the context of implementation of those standards in open source software. We elaborate on the challenges of seeking to obtain those rights, providing examples. Findings show evidence of significant practical difficulty of obtaining the necessary licences, and we examine the implications of that evidence. We make specific recommendations both in terms of the steps which an organisation should take into account prior to considering implementing such a standard in software, as well as recommendations to changes in policy and practice aimed at reducing friction in implementing such standards in open source software.
long-term involvement with OSS projects. // THROUGH THE YEARS, individuals and organizations have... more long-term involvement with OSS projects. // THROUGH THE YEARS, individuals and organizations have contributed to and witnessed more widespread development, procurement, use, and deployment of complex software systems that involve data processing and the maintenance of associated digital assets in a range of domains. This has caused a number of challenges for private and public sector organizations in different usage contexts and domains. 1-9 Companies in the primary and secondary software sectors need to deal with an increasing amount of software provided through industrial products and innovative applications and services. Several primary software sector 6 companies have extensive experience and business offerings as service providers related to
Summary form only given. The ability to connect distributed, heterogeneous applications and servi... more Summary form only given. The ability to connect distributed, heterogeneous applications and services (old and new) allows IT departments to reduce time spent in all phases of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). In order to achieve such lofty goals, applications must be de-coupled in such a way that limits interface dependencies, while providing a means to alter the underlying service implementation without affecting the service contract. An enterprise service bus (ESB) can be used to centrally manage entire suites of applications running incompatible transport bindings and even mediating different messaging characteristics (synchronous vs. asynchronous). To date, there are many ESB vendors on the market. I'll be focusing on some of the ESB features I believe to be most useful in a distributed applications environment as well as the OSS implementations currently supporting such features. Finally, I'll present a practical example, depicting how to leverage an OSS ESB implementation that provides an adaptor into two different service offerings
Advances in human and social aspects of technology book series, 2018
Over the years, the importance of open standards has been acknowledged in EU and national policie... more Over the years, the importance of open standards has been acknowledged in EU and national policies. Formal (e.g., ISO) standards are often referred to in software development and procurement. Use of formal (ISO) standards and to what extent ISO standards can be implemented in open source software is considered, with particular reference to patent licensing. It is shown that not all formal standards are open standards and that FRAND commitments may impose major challenges for use of such standards. Further policies and procedures set by standards setting organisations (SSOs) regarding the notification of standards-essential patents (SEPs) present challenges for organisations wishing to implement standards in software. This chapter elaborates implications and suggests ways of addressing the challenges identified. Use of formal standards may create barriers for implementation in open source software and inhibit an open and inclusive business-friendly ecosystem.
JeDEM - eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government
Many public sector organisations (PSO) use SaaS solutions from dominant global providers. Impleme... more Many public sector organisations (PSO) use SaaS solutions from dominant global providers. Implementation of these solutions may raise issues concerning both lawful data processing, and the obligations that those PSOs have to maintain their digital assets. One example is a large Swedish PSO which addressed these issues as part of the adoption and implementation of Microsoft 365. The study identifies challenges and presents an analysis of the organisational implementation of that SaaS solution, exposing legal issues that arose in that context. Findings show an absence of a documented risk analysis related to the PSO's use of that SaaS solution, covering data processing and maintenance of its digital assets. Recommendations are presented to facilitate a PSO's procurement and implementation of such a SaaS solution to address issues around data processing and the processing of digital assets.
To develop software based on standards, developers will often require patent licences for the pat... more To develop software based on standards, developers will often require patent licences for the patents which impinge on those standards. This paper reports on an investigation into acquiring patent licences required to implement three specific formal standards in software, namely ISO 32000-1 (a standard based on PDF 1.7), ISO/IEC 29500 (Office Open XML), and ISO 20022 (a standard for international financial business communication). In particular, the licences were requested in the context of implementation of those standards in open source software. We elaborate on the challenges of seeking to obtain those rights, providing examples. Findings show evidence of significant practical difficulty of obtaining the necessary licences, and we examine the implications of that evidence. We make specific recommendations both in terms of the steps which an organisation should take into account prior to considering implementing such a standard in software, as well as recommendations to changes in...
Lawful and appropriate use of cloud-based globally provided Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution... more Lawful and appropriate use of cloud-based globally provided Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions by a public sector organisation (PSO) for data processing and maintenance of digital assets presupposes an investigation of all relevant contract terms. Having obtained, analysed, and filed all relevant contract terms when using a SaaS solution is a prerequisite for good administration. Identifying and obtaining all relevant contract terms for a SaaS solution involves significant obstacles which in practice may be impossible to overcome for each PSO. This paper addresses how PSOs investigate contract terms prior to adoption, and why PSOs use a globally provided SaaS solution without having identified and obtained all relevant contract terms. Through a review of responses to questions and public documents from Swedish PSOs we analysed how each PSO had investigated contract terms and licences for the Microsoft 365 (M365) solution prior to adoption and use of the solution in each PSO. We find that no PSO had investigated all relevant contract terms prior to use of M365, which implies that each PSO uses M365 under unknown contract terms. Further, we find that all PSOs use M365 for data processing of its digital assets under unknown contract terms and that each PSO has significant dependence and trust in its supplier.
International Free and Open Source Software Law Review, Apr 7, 2009
Andrew Katz casts a critical eye over Fadi P. Deek and James A.M. McHugh's three-part study o... more Andrew Katz casts a critical eye over Fadi P. Deek and James A.M. McHugh's three-part study of open source principles and practice, assessing the relevance of the volume's research, and the merits of its balanced approach to introducing new software development models.
International Free and Open Source Software Law Review, 2016
Free and open source software (FOSS) is commonly made available to students in schools, but the s... more Free and open source software (FOSS) is commonly made available to students in schools, but the schools do not necessarily take a holistic approach to their provision of IT (including software) which takes into account the nature of FOSS. In particular, we have identified a number of contracts with which Swedish students who are provided with laptops by their schools are required to comply which set out conditions for the use of the laptops, and associated software and content. Many clauses in these contracts are legally incompatible with certain FOSS licences, or contain misconceptions about FOSS, licensing and culture. This paper explores the relationship between the contracts and FOSS licensing and culture, and suggests a number of resolutions to the contradictions and misconceptions, as well as considering related issues.
International Free and Open Source Software Law Review, Jun 17, 2010
Info This item is part of the Book Reviews section of IFOSS L. Rev. For more information, please ... more Info This item is part of the Book Reviews section of IFOSS L. Rev. For more information, please consult the relevant section policies statement. 'A "worthless book", "loathsome" and "among the worst books yet written about copyrights"': so said Thomas Sydnor 2 in his rant about William Patry's latest book. My view: Patry's book is beautifully written. His style is accessible and enjoyable. It is impeccably researched: it is well annotated. 3 It is generally restrained (although he does allow himself the occasional outburst from 1 Richard Stallman has found himself in favour of arguing against the Swedish Pirate Party's proposals to radically reduce the copyright term across the board, by instituting an increased term of copyright for free software, without which the GPL's ability to enforce software freedom would be severely curtailed. 2 Sydnor's organisation is called the "Progress and Freedom Foundation": a name which I hope I can assume sounds less ludicrous to American ears than to my British ones. Some of its supporters can be found here: http://www.pff.org/about/supporters.html and include Time Warner, Sony BMG and News International. 3 Almost inevitably, the book contains a few references using Wikipedia links. They are used appropriately (i.e. illustratively, or as a suggestion for further reading, rather than as definitive sources). I'm not at all sympathetic to the argument that wikipedia should never be quoted on the grounds that it is user-generated content and therefore unreliable. However, care needs to be taken when referring to Wikipedia, and I think that links should always be to the version of the Wiki page on the day that it was referenced, or at least there should be a comment in the note, such as www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Copland as accessed at 12.01 UTC on 1st April 2009, for example. This minor criticism does feed across to the use of other links: they often have the feel of having been cut and pasted from the address bar of the browser, and therefore may contain the reference variables generating the page in question, rather than a permalink, if one exists, to the page itself. This is more of an observation on the problems of creating persistent links to what may be an impersistent medium, than an indication of any fundamental problems with Patry's work.
As with any other open source field, there are countless far-reaching advantages in open hardware... more As with any other open source field, there are countless far-reaching advantages in open hardware licensing, as opposed to its proprietary counterpart. This paper takes the example of a low-cost portable mechanical ventilator design and considers the effect of the application of the three different variants of the newly-released CERN Open Hardware Licence Version 2. This paper considers the importance of licensing, and demonstrates how open hardware licensing can facilitate efficient further development of a project, improve its safety and reliability, and encourage collaboration. Most importantly, open hardware licensing allows anyone to freely use, study, modify and distribute improvements to project design, and make, sell or otherwise distribute products made to that design, making it a cost-effective means of developing and deploying the device throughout the world, from the most developed to the most vulnerable territories. Finally, this paper argues that open hardware licensing also encourages economic activity whilst it protects third-party intellectual property rights.
... This interface is designed to The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of Rashi Na... more ... This interface is designed to The author would like to acknowledge the assistance of Rashi Nagpal (research) and Kate Bray (editorial support). ... The sender is almost always a program as well, but may occasionally be a die-hard human hacker. ...
International Free and Open Source Software Law Review, Jun 12, 2012
Open hardware lags open source software in maturity. The two main licences assert a form of copyl... more Open hardware lags open source software in maturity. The two main licences assert a form of copyleft. This paper argues that copyleft's applicability to hardware is problematic, and concludes by proposing a simpler non-copyleft licence, based on Apache 2.0, for hardware.
As software as a service (SaaS) adoption increases in both the public and private sectors, so doe... more As software as a service (SaaS) adoption increases in both the public and private sectors, so does dependency on specific providers and technologies and the consequent danger of lock-in. This paper reports on how public sector organisations (PSOs) can, and should, avoid lock-in throughout the lifecycle (commissioning, deployment and decommissioning) of their deployment of the Microsoft Office 365 SaaS product (O365). We investigate how 33 PSOs address different lock-in effects, focussing on the City of Gothenburg, and show that none of the PSOs determined possible lock-in effects prior to implementation or were able to provide documented evidence that they would be able to independently access, process and maintain the digital assets processed by the SaaS solution after decommissioning. We also report on jurisdictional and data processing issues, with consequent impact on digital sovereignty.
European journal of law and technology, Nov 29, 2019
To develop software based on standards, developers will often require patent licences for the pat... more To develop software based on standards, developers will often require patent licences for the patents which impinge on those standards. This paper reports on an investigation into acquiring patent licences required to implement three specific formal standards in software, namely ISO 32000-1 (a standard based on PDF 1.7), ISO/IEC 29500 (Office Open XML), and ISO 20022 (a standard for international financial business communication). In particular, the licences were requested in the context of implementation of those standards in open source software. We elaborate on the challenges of seeking to obtain those rights, providing examples. Findings show evidence of significant practical difficulty of obtaining the necessary licences, and we examine the implications of that evidence. We make specific recommendations both in terms of the steps which an organisation should take into account prior to considering implementing such a standard in software, as well as recommendations to changes in policy and practice aimed at reducing friction in implementing such standards in open source software.
long-term involvement with OSS projects. // THROUGH THE YEARS, individuals and organizations have... more long-term involvement with OSS projects. // THROUGH THE YEARS, individuals and organizations have contributed to and witnessed more widespread development, procurement, use, and deployment of complex software systems that involve data processing and the maintenance of associated digital assets in a range of domains. This has caused a number of challenges for private and public sector organizations in different usage contexts and domains. 1-9 Companies in the primary and secondary software sectors need to deal with an increasing amount of software provided through industrial products and innovative applications and services. Several primary software sector 6 companies have extensive experience and business offerings as service providers related to
Summary form only given. The ability to connect distributed, heterogeneous applications and servi... more Summary form only given. The ability to connect distributed, heterogeneous applications and services (old and new) allows IT departments to reduce time spent in all phases of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). In order to achieve such lofty goals, applications must be de-coupled in such a way that limits interface dependencies, while providing a means to alter the underlying service implementation without affecting the service contract. An enterprise service bus (ESB) can be used to centrally manage entire suites of applications running incompatible transport bindings and even mediating different messaging characteristics (synchronous vs. asynchronous). To date, there are many ESB vendors on the market. I'll be focusing on some of the ESB features I believe to be most useful in a distributed applications environment as well as the OSS implementations currently supporting such features. Finally, I'll present a practical example, depicting how to leverage an OSS ESB implementation that provides an adaptor into two different service offerings
Advances in human and social aspects of technology book series, 2018
Over the years, the importance of open standards has been acknowledged in EU and national policie... more Over the years, the importance of open standards has been acknowledged in EU and national policies. Formal (e.g., ISO) standards are often referred to in software development and procurement. Use of formal (ISO) standards and to what extent ISO standards can be implemented in open source software is considered, with particular reference to patent licensing. It is shown that not all formal standards are open standards and that FRAND commitments may impose major challenges for use of such standards. Further policies and procedures set by standards setting organisations (SSOs) regarding the notification of standards-essential patents (SEPs) present challenges for organisations wishing to implement standards in software. This chapter elaborates implications and suggests ways of addressing the challenges identified. Use of formal standards may create barriers for implementation in open source software and inhibit an open and inclusive business-friendly ecosystem.
JeDEM - eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government
Many public sector organisations (PSO) use SaaS solutions from dominant global providers. Impleme... more Many public sector organisations (PSO) use SaaS solutions from dominant global providers. Implementation of these solutions may raise issues concerning both lawful data processing, and the obligations that those PSOs have to maintain their digital assets. One example is a large Swedish PSO which addressed these issues as part of the adoption and implementation of Microsoft 365. The study identifies challenges and presents an analysis of the organisational implementation of that SaaS solution, exposing legal issues that arose in that context. Findings show an absence of a documented risk analysis related to the PSO's use of that SaaS solution, covering data processing and maintenance of its digital assets. Recommendations are presented to facilitate a PSO's procurement and implementation of such a SaaS solution to address issues around data processing and the processing of digital assets.
To develop software based on standards, developers will often require patent licences for the pat... more To develop software based on standards, developers will often require patent licences for the patents which impinge on those standards. This paper reports on an investigation into acquiring patent licences required to implement three specific formal standards in software, namely ISO 32000-1 (a standard based on PDF 1.7), ISO/IEC 29500 (Office Open XML), and ISO 20022 (a standard for international financial business communication). In particular, the licences were requested in the context of implementation of those standards in open source software. We elaborate on the challenges of seeking to obtain those rights, providing examples. Findings show evidence of significant practical difficulty of obtaining the necessary licences, and we examine the implications of that evidence. We make specific recommendations both in terms of the steps which an organisation should take into account prior to considering implementing such a standard in software, as well as recommendations to changes in...
Lawful and appropriate use of cloud-based globally provided Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution... more Lawful and appropriate use of cloud-based globally provided Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions by a public sector organisation (PSO) for data processing and maintenance of digital assets presupposes an investigation of all relevant contract terms. Having obtained, analysed, and filed all relevant contract terms when using a SaaS solution is a prerequisite for good administration. Identifying and obtaining all relevant contract terms for a SaaS solution involves significant obstacles which in practice may be impossible to overcome for each PSO. This paper addresses how PSOs investigate contract terms prior to adoption, and why PSOs use a globally provided SaaS solution without having identified and obtained all relevant contract terms. Through a review of responses to questions and public documents from Swedish PSOs we analysed how each PSO had investigated contract terms and licences for the Microsoft 365 (M365) solution prior to adoption and use of the solution in each PSO. We find that no PSO had investigated all relevant contract terms prior to use of M365, which implies that each PSO uses M365 under unknown contract terms. Further, we find that all PSOs use M365 for data processing of its digital assets under unknown contract terms and that each PSO has significant dependence and trust in its supplier.
Uploads
Papers by Andrew Katz