Open-source software companies are missing out on a relatively inexpensive way to fight concerns about patent liability, according to an attorney who spoke at an open-source conference in San Francisco this week.

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

The Linux Foundation (LF), the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced it will hold two legal summits over the next 12 months.

A bit of teenage angst is cropping up in speculation about acquisitions of open source software companies. With the $500 million buy of XenSource by Citrix Systems Inc. and previous buys by RedHat Inc. and Oracle Corp. last year, open source software providers have become viable targets despite worries about lack of sales and compromised code that could lead to legal disputes.

Fans of open-source software are breathing easier after a ruling reduced the legal threats against their most pervasive product, the Linux operating system.

MANY technology firms are floundering amid the recession. But many of the ones that offer services tied to open-source software—free programs written by volunteers who collaborate online—are boasting double-digit growth. Sales at Red Hat, the world’s biggest independent open-source firm with annual revenues of $653m, grew by 18% year-on-year in the first quarter.

Companies that use open-source source software to make money may have to reexamine their practices because of the real possibility of litigation and changes in the new version of the most popular open-source license, Edmund J. Walsh of the Boston IP law firm Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C., writes in the April issue of IP Law & Business.

As the use of free and open source software (“FOSS”) has become more ubiquitous, legal issues relating to FOSS have become more common and important. This year has seen a mix of new and old issues. Even more so than 2008.