Copyrights, Patents, and Free Software, a survey of the state of the law and how it relates to Free Software licensing

Local: Auditório Jacy Monteiro - Bloco B do IME/USP

Quinta-feira, 7/5/09, 8:30 às 10:00 (note que o horário é diferente, começará pontualmente às 8:30)

"Copyrights, Patents, and Free Software, a survey of the state of the
law and how it relates to Free Software licensing"

Copyrights and patents play an important role in the production and
sale of software. This talk will describe the history and application
of copyright and patent law, and how these laws apply to software. All
programmers need a basic understanding of how these "intellectual
property rights" apply to software. We will also look at how these
laws relate to the production, sale, and use of Free Software.

Biography:

Robert Dewar is an Emeritus Professor of Computer Science at the Courant
Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University. He is past
chair of the department, and past associate director of the institute. His
research fields include compilers and programming languages, operating systems,
and microprocessor architectures. He is also the President and CEO of Ada Core
Technogies, a company that specializes in providing large scale systems for
development of critical systems using Ada technology. Ada Core Technologies
provides all its software using Free Software/Open Source licesnses. He is
an expert in the technical aspects of patent and copyright law, having served
as a an expert witness in several US Federal trials.