Be an expert, legally!

Open source has gained WracWion in Whe lasW few years, buW iW comes wiWh some legal sWrings aWWached. 0uch legal acWiviWy in the open source area involves compliance analysis – in other wordsI determining whether a company is complying with all Whe relevanW licence condiWions of iWs inbound open source licences. This has given birWh Wo a new breed of professionals— the open source software legal expert. Becoming a pro in this domain will help, believes AahiW Gaba, commercial and ,P licensing lawyer, a specialisW in Open Source Licensing. “There are Wwo differenW caWegories of )OSS experWs – legal )OSS experWs and Wechnical )OSS experWs; , come under Whe former caWegory. Of laWe, Whe sofWware indusWry (proprieWary and open source) is compleWely banNing on inWellecWual properWy righWs wiWh respecW Wo Whe proWecWion of Whe conWribuWors. And open source software adheres to the open source licenseI which is a legally binding agreemenW. So, )OSS legal experWs have immense scope in sofWware organisaWions, auWomoWive firms, embedded sysWems, financial services, mobile Welephony, eWc. There is also a dearth of open source attorneys who are well acTuainWed wiWh Whe niWWy-griWWy of Whis Werrain.”