I find that I'm most comfortable delving into a new field when I can quickly identify core resources as reference material in order to establish a reliable foundation for future work. I keep these key information sources close at hand for repeated reference as each new issue presents itself. This allows me to begin building perspective and more easily weigh the value of new commentary regardless of source. It can be difficult to get adequately grounded when the subject matter has such a relative short history and few if any on point legal precedents. In that spirit I recommend two books I have found invaluable:
- Lawrence Rosen, Open Source Licensing, Software Freedom and Intellectual Property Law, (2005)
- Heather J. Meeker, The Open Source Alternative, Understanding Risks and Leveraging Opportunities, (2008)
Both of these volumes enjoy a permanent place on my desk, complete with dog eared pages and the occasional coffee stain. They are the type of reference that should probably be read front to back the first time through for context. But thereafter are easily used as a quick refresher when needed. I fully credit both Rosen and Meeker for influencing my thinking on many open source topics discussed in this blog.
I should note that while the legal analysis of the open source landscape remains as useful today as when they were first published, you should remember that the specific technology application discussions and software engineering terms have quickly become dated. Architectural concepts such as cloud based infrastructure, platform as a service (PaaS) and container based resource management were not really on the landscape for Rosen and Meeker to consider.
Of course, there are multiple websites, blogs and other on-line resources as well which can be enormously helpful. I will continue to reference those in the context of future posts.
I would like to hear about other resources that the community has found worthy of mention as a core reference in the field. Thoughtful comments are welcome :-)
I should note that while the legal analysis of the open source landscape remains as useful today as when they were first published, you should remember that the specific technology application discussions and software engineering terms have quickly become dated. Architectural concepts such as cloud based infrastructure, platform as a service (PaaS) and container based resource management were not really on the landscape for Rosen and Meeker to consider.
Of course, there are multiple websites, blogs and other on-line resources as well which can be enormously helpful. I will continue to reference those in the context of future posts.
I would like to hear about other resources that the community has found worthy of mention as a core reference in the field. Thoughtful comments are welcome :-)
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