March 17, 2009

In this episode of the Software Freedom Law Show, Karen and Bradley interview Karen F. Copenhaver of the Linux Foundation and Choate, Hall, & Stewart, LLP, and also answer a listener's question.

Running time: 00:42:51.

Show Notes

Segment 0 (00:31)

• Karen (Sandler) just returned from speaking at the Bossa Conference 2009. (00:50)
• Bradley just returned from the Free Software Poker Conference. (01:13)
• Outside of his work for the Conservancy and the SFLC, Bradley also contributes to the Pokersource project. (01:27)
• Karen (Sandler) mentioned a type of non-profit organization called trade associations, aka 501(c)(6)'s. (02:50)
• Karen (Copenhaver) works for the Linux Foundation. (03:52)

Segment 1 (04:09)

• Karen (Copenhaver) noted that she thinks of Richard Fontana as a national treasure. Fontana was previously a guest (on episode 0x04). (09:40)
• Karen (Copenhaver) mentioned that conversations among lawyers about Free Software licensing issues are very important. Listeners may be interested to know about open-bar, which is a mailing list for exactly that. (15:26)
• Karen (Copenhaver) pointed out that Scott Peterson is an invaluable resource to other lawyers. Scott was previously a guest (on episode 0x01). (16:17)
• Karen (Copenhaver) pointed out that she isn't the attorney for any kernel developers or the member companies of the Linux Foundation, and that her primary role is for education on legal issues related to the kernel named Linux. (17:32)
• Both Karens discussed the differences between trade associations (aka 501(c)(6)'s), and 501(c)(3) charitable organizations. The latter is more common in the FLOSS world, but Linux Foundation is the former. Stormy Peters wrote an excellent blog post on the differences between the two. (18:50)
• Karen (Copenhaver) pointed out that The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) was the predecessor organization to the Linux Foundation. (Linux Foundation was formed by the merger the ODSL and the Free Standards Group (FSG) in early 2007.) (20:40)
• Some of the key kernel developers, such as Andrew Morton, Linus Torvalds, and Ted T'so work for the Linux Foundation. (21:20)
• Karen (Copenhaver) said that the Linux Foundation has a small number of employees, although at ten, it is actually about the same size, or, in most cases, bigger more than most non-profits in the FLOSS space. She was likely primarily comparing the size of the Linux Foundation to its member companies. (22:25)
• Jim Zemlin is the CEO of the Linux Foundation. (24:54)
• The Linux Foundation has planned a number of events for 2009. (31:15)

Segment 2 (34:06)

• The FSF FAQ as a pretty good definition of license Compatibility. (37:00)
• The the license compatibility matrix is also in the GPL FAQ. The matrix was written by Brett Smith, who was a guest on Episode 0x02.(38:19)
• The FSF License List indicates whether or not each license is compatible with the GPL. (40:00)

Tags: bkuhn, karen, linux foundation, Karen Copenhaver, license compatibility

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