Attorneys for Open Source Software, Contracts and Technology Transactions, Nonprofit Organizations, and Restorative Conflict Resolution. Our clients create technology and build community. We make the way easier. https://www.williamson.legal/ Thu, 02 Feb 2023 09:02:11 -0800 https://www.williamson.legal/blog/the-internet-of-things-and-the-challenges-of-open-source-software-licensing https://www.williamson.legal/blog/the-internet-of-things-and-the-challenges-of-open-source-software-licensing <p>Our article on IoT and open source licensing, which Aaron Williamson co-wrote with <a href="https://katedowninglaw.com/" data-type="web" target="_blank">Kate Downing</a>, was recently published in t<span style="color: #444444;">he December/January 2023 issue of </span><em>Landslide</em>, the magazine of the American Bar Association's Intellectual Property Law Section. In it, Aaron and Kate discuss how to manage compliance with open source licenses when launching an IoT device. </p><p><span style="color: #444444;">A summary of the article is below. To read a PDF of the full article, </span><span style="color: #2aabd9;"><a style="color: #2aabd9;" href="https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/c1bb4723-7586-40a5-a098-3b920a0e4299/LANDSLIDE_15.2_Williamson-Downing_IoT%20and%20the%20Challenges%20of%20Open%20Source%20Software%20Licensing.pdf?t=1675357524?id=3984451" data-type="document" target="_blank"><strong>click here</strong></a></span><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></p><p><span style="color: #444444;"> “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices—from Amazon Echos and Fitbits to the sensors that power smart cities—all contain embedded software. Most are built on the open source Linux operating system and contain dozens (or hundreds) of open source applications and software libraries. These open source components do everything from supporting the most basic functions of the device, to providing the framework for the graphic interface you see when you log on to the device.</span></p><p>IoT device makers don’t cobble all of this OSS together themselves. Typically, they source their embedded computing hardware (or key portions of it) from OEM hardware producers or system integrators, and these hardware suppliers provide a basic operating system for them. The device maker will then typically add their own custom software to provide user-facing functionality.</p><p><span style="display: inline-block">&nbsp;</span></p><p>The many OSS components in an IoT device are all...<a href=https://www.williamson.legal/blog/the-internet-of-things-and-the-challenges-of-open-source-software-licensing>Read More</a>