Intellectual Property and Open Source

A book on (gulp) law? Why would I want to read this? Well, if you’re a developer (open source or not) and you are at all interested in protecting the fruits of your labors, you will want to know this the same way you want to know about locking your house when you leave for work each morning. The next question is, “Will I understand anything the author is saying?”. Depends. If you’re an attorney, the answer is “yes”. If you’re a software engineer, the answer is…”yes”. What? How can that be? Turns out the author is both a software engineer and a practicing attorney (at least, according to the blurb on the back cover of the book). Is it possible he can speak to both audiences? Let’s find out.