mike@hcradm.UUCP (Mike Tilson) (03/22/85)
During the recent discussions in this group about protection of
intellectual property, software licensing, ethics, etc., I promised
to post an announcement of a tutorial on the legal aspects of the
subject. Here it is. The full Usenix tutorial program has been
posted to net.unix and net.usenix. For further details see the
net.usenix posting and/or call:
Usenix Conference Office
P.O. Box 385, Sunset Beach, CA 90742
213-592-3243
Don't call me please. Any followup on the Usenix tutorial program
should go to net.usenix. The preliminary course description follows.
The course will be held June 11, 1985 in Portland, Oregon. I've taken
this course myself, and I found it very useful (and even sometimes
entertaining.)
4. Software Contracts and Intellectual Property
Instructors: Susan Nycum
James Marcellino
Gaston Snow & Ely Bartlett
Software is intangible and reproducible at will, and yet it
has high value. Users and vendors of commercial software
need to understand their rights and obligations with respect
to software contracts and license agreements. Many
technical people do not understand the legal basis for
protecting intellectual property such as computer programs.
This day long seminar covers the legal aspects of software
contracts and license agreements, proprietary rights, the
various ways software can be protected and how to make the
choice. International aspects will also be covered. The
material learned will be applied to the AT&T UNIX license
agreement as a case study. There will be time for questions
and answers throughout. No legal knowledge is assumed; this
course is an excellent opportunity for technical people and
managers to broaden their horizons in this important area.
Both Susan Nycum and James Marcellino are practicing lawyers
and recognized international experts in this area. They
have taught this course for Usenix before, and it was very
well received. Susan Nycum also presented a talk at the
Winter '85 Usenix meeting. Most importantly, they both
speak English rather than legalese.
/Mike Tilson, Human Computing Resources Corp.
/ Usenix Tutorial Coordinator {utzoo,decvax}!hcr!hcradm!mike