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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY /
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Applications:
OSRM CLAIMS LINUX FREE OF
COPYRIGHT ABUSE
A new company said it can certify that the basic code in the Linux
operating
software is free of copyright infringement and it will offer standard product
liability insurance to developers and users.
The move would fill a gap in legal responsibility that has stoked fears
over
the risks of Linux, an open-source software in which the underlying code is
available to users to modify as they see fit.
Software company SCO Group Inc has been waging an aggressive legal battle
against Linux, claiming that the product is based on its Unix software. SCO
has filed lawsuits against AutoZone and DaimlerChrysler and threatened
hundreds of other users with legal action, along with its copyright
infringement suit against IBM.
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The new company, Open Source Risk Management (OSRM), set up by lawyer and
venture capitalist Daniel Egger, plans to offer standard product liability
insurance to major Linux vendors, big corporate users and individual
developers of Linux.
"After a rigorous six-month process of examining the individual software
files
in the Linux kernel and tracing their origins, OSRM found no copyright
infringement in kernel versions 2.4 and 2.6," Egger, OSRM's chairman, said in
an interview. He was referring to the two most commonly used versions of the
Linux operating system.
Roughly 1,500 corporate Linux users have received letters threatening legal
action for using software that SCO says infringes on its intellectual
property.
The battle over Linux, the most popular form of open-source software, has
raised questions about who to hold responsible for the underlying code created
through a combination of public collaboration and private initiative.
Linux marks a distinct break with the practice of Microsoft and other more
traditional software developers who keep their code secret.
The New York company's business model combines intellectual property
technical
research with a legal defense strategy. It is backed up with a form of product
liability insurance for open source users.
OSRM is also looking beyond the legal battles with SCO to future
intellectual
property battles that may arise.
In the next two months, OSRM plans to begin offering insurance to corporate
customers. It will charge standard liability insurance rates of around 3
percent of the cost of the potential liability, or $30,000 for $1 million
worth of coverage.
OSRM is working to sign contracts with unnamed players in the liability
reinsurance market, said Egger.
The company also said it has set up the Open Source Legal Defense Center in
Washington, D.C., and plans to work with law firms already working on behalf
of Linux vendors and corporate customers. The center will act as a
clearinghouse for Linux defense strategies.
OSRM plans to charge $100,000 annually to provide legal defense to
corporate
Linux users. It will charge $250 to individual Linux developers for legal
backing up to $25,000 in court costs.
"By threatening this group of large companies with litigation, SCO made
their
risk on Linux IP issues largely uninsurable. Ironically, what SCO also did is
provide a compelling incentive for them to band together in united defense. We
are providing them the infrastructure and forum to do so," Egger said. "This
program builds on the success we have had with our confidential OSRM Working
Group meetings, which have brought together CIOs and General Counsels of
Global 1000 Companies to discuss risk mitigation strategies and best practices
for Open Source IP defense."
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