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Open Source

Contact

Edward A. Cavazos
Partner, Austin
T: +1.512.580.9608
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Pillsbury’s nationally recognized lawyers are at the forefront of emerging legal trends, offering thought leadership and assisting clients with the entire spectrum of open source issues.

Combining technical and industry knowledge with legal skill, our lawyers possess a deep understanding of how businesses can effectively exploit open source software assets. Our team helps businesses acquire, protect and optimize the value of open source assets and provides guidance to open source users, developers, licensors and licensees on ways to integrate different and often-incompatible open source licenses. We address intellectual property protections and liability issues; resolve ownership, patent and copyright disputes associated with derivative works; and help clients develop corporate policies and procedures regarding open source software licensing, use and risk management. Our lawyers frequently represent clients in the context of mergers and acquisitions, conducting open source due diligence and advising on ways to resolve code compatibility issues, as well as negotiating warranties and indemnifications for transactions involving open source-governed assets.

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We also provide counsel regarding:

  • Safely using open source tools when developing software products
  • Commercializing open source software and integrating open source solutions into client products
  • Establishing or determining the scope of open source licenses
  • Negotiating open source licenses and collaboration arrangements
  • Utilizing patents to protect open source products
  • Assessing infringement risks and resolving intellectual property rights and liability issues
  • Assuring licensing compliance
  • Conducting code analysis of proprietary software to avoid inadvertent use of open source code
  • Handling open source audits
  • Litigating disputes involving open source issues
  • Training on open source use, rights, protections and risk avoidance

Representative Experience

  • Advised the Washington Post Company, a diversified media organization, in connection with open source technology matters.
  • Advised Tenable Network Security on an open source/proprietary licensing strategy for its open source Nessus vulnerability scanner and evaluating venture capital investment opportunities.

Resources

Case Study

Victory at Trial and on Appeal in $60+ Millon Licensing Dispute

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