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Examining Software Liability In the Open Source Community

Posted by timothy on from the three-letters-starting-f-u-d dept.

snydeq writes "Guidelines from the American Law Institute that seek to hold vendors liable for 'knowingly' shipping buggy software could have dramatic impact on the open source community, as vague language around a 'free software' exemption could put open source developers at litigation risk. Meant to protect open source developers, the 'free software' exemption does not take into account the myriad ways in which vendors receive revenue from software products, according to a joint letter drafted by Microsoft and the Linux Foundation. As such, the guidelines — which, although not binding, are likely to prove influential on future lawsuits, according to attorneys on both sides of the issue — call into question the notion of liability in the open source community, where any number of coders may be responsible for any given defect."

7 of 241 comments (clear)

  1. microsoft and the linux foundation agree ? by godrik · · Score: 3, Funny

    I am sure hell is frozen now.

    1. Re:microsoft and the linux foundation agree ? by Tekfactory · · Score: 4, Funny

      Google would have joined them, but Beta software doesn't count.

      That and the Universe asploding

  2. Re:Interesting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    ADSTIYHTEWTM - Acronyms don't save time if you have to explain what they mean

  3. Re:I believe almost every free software I use has. by piojo · · Score: 2, Funny

    Oh, and I'm not a lawyer. And if I were, I probably wouldn't be you lawyer. In which case this would not be legal advice...

    --
    A cat can't teach a dog to bark.
  4. Re:LOL by mcgrew · · Score: 2, Funny

    Put the chair down, Steve.

    --
    Free Martian Whores!
  5. Re:Sue who for what now? by jd · · Score: 4, Funny

    If the car explodes when you turn the ignition key, it's a bug.

    If the car explodes but the driver can escape and sue, it's a disaster.

    --
    It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  6. Re:I believe almost every free software I use has. by The+Grim+Reefer2 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Not all Open source software is free and in beer.

    I should think not. The last time I tried to download FOSS from a server that was in beer I kept losing the connection, and the time I drank beer with FOSS in it, was even worse.