June 2, 2003
Contact: Rita Heimes, Director
Technology Law Center
University of Maine School of Law
207-874-6521
Law Conference To Help Tech Entrepreneurs Grapple with
Software and Data Ownership Issues
There are movements in the computer software field, promoting
"free," or "open source" software. This software is sold in
a way so that users can change the code; adapting the program
for particular needs, fixing bugs faster than now commercially
possible, or improving the product. Redistribution of these
evolving products is legal.
"Free Software," "Open Source" licenses, and other issues
surrounding information technology ownership will be the topic
of the fourth annual Law & Technology Conference, "Information
Technology Ownership," that will take place Thursday and Friday,
June 19-20 at the Marriott at Sable Oaks in South Portland.
The conference is sponsored each year by the University of
Maine School of Law Technology Law Center.
Tech entrepreneurs constantly collide with legal and ownership
issues as they innovate, often struggling with the tension
between a culture of openness and creating a profitable business.
The "Information Technology Ownership" conference is taking
these issues head-on with presentations by Richard Stallman,
founder of the Free Software Movement, and its legal counsel
Eben Moglen; counsel to the Open Source Initiative, Larry
Rosen; and Emery Simon of the Business Software Alliance,
which represents producers of proprietary software like Microsoft.
The conference is designed for a business audience throughout
New England as well as legal specialists, and hosted by the
Technology Law Center of the University of Maine School of
Law. More information including a schedule and registration
materials are available at the Center's Web
site.
The Technology Law Center was established to support Maine's
investments in science and technology through educational
programs and research projects in intellectual property law,
e-commerce, and technology transfer. It also includes the
Maine Patent Program, which provides advice on the patent
process to Maine's inventors and small businesses.
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