Developers, exercising their legal right specify their own licensing terms, have come up with some pretty whacky stuff. Fact or fiction? Some software is only legal to use after you are dead.

Due to the fact that windows is produced by a single company and Linux is not then there is a target for any legal action which needs to be taken. With Linux there is no single target that legal action can be brought against for when things go wrong.

Is Microsoft a friend or foe of open source? Going by the company's actions, Microsoft can't seem to decide whether to make love or war. But if it's war, Microsoft appears to lack the legal weaponry to defeat or even disturb its adversaries.

Is Microsoft a friend or foe of open source? Going by the company's actions, Microsoft can't seem to decide whether to make love or war. But if it's war, Microsoft appears to lack the legal weaponry to defeat or even disturb its adversaries.

After 2 years of operation, FSFE's Shane Coughlan has built a legal network of 145 experts, has organised the first European conference for free software legal issues, and worked on GPL enforcement and producing documentation. For the curious, here's a general status report.

For decades, almost no one challenged the General Public License in legal matters. In fact, no one has even dared to try to break it in court. That record remains unsullied as the biggest company to date--Verizon--that had been accused of a GPL violation opted to settle out of court.

Legal firms are rapidly expanding their open source practices as the legal challenges to developers and users mount.

In the age of open source and large scale outsourcing, assuring the quality of software must comprise ascertaining its legal compliance as well. Numerous legal cases in recent years have highlighted the business risks and the enormous costs incurred when this is not done properly.

Last year was the one of the most active years for legal developments in the history of free and open source (“FOSS”). http://lawandlifesiliconvalley.com/blog/?p=27 This year, 2008, has seen a continuation of important legal developments for FOSS. My list of the top ten FOSS legal developments in 2008 follows