For the event series “Afterworks de la Propriété Intellectuelle” the IPIL is collaborating with Technoport incubator to organize a seminar on the Intellectual property exploitation in open source software development.
Photo: Olivier Zephir (Technoport) and Cyrille Dubois (IPIL) / Image Credits: Technoport
The moderators of the event Cyrille Dubois (Intellectual Property Institute Luxembourg G.I.E.) and Olivier Zephir (Technoport) gave us more details about the scope of the event.
What is the IP Afterwork about?
Intellectual Property is not the easiest topic to consider for companies. This is the reason why IPIL has developed those afterwork events, that aim at presenting IP and its use in a different way. The main idea is to introduce IP practice with examples from companies.
Accompanied by private IP professionals, we discuss their experiences, the difficulties they faced as well as good practices and useful tips. We believe this is the best way to demystify IP, that is one of the important missions of the Intellectual Property Institute Luxembourg G.I.E. (IPIL), which assist the Luxembourg Office for Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Economy in the implementation of the national IP strategy.
Another specificity of the IP Afterwork is that IPIL always organises these events with partner organisations. For example, this specific one is organised in co-operation with the Technoport. Thanks to its long experience in assisting start-up businesses, such an organisation is able to bring a very interesting added value to the roundtable discussions. Technoport’s staff is indeed used to guide start-up companies and is knowledgeable in the difficulties they are facing daily, and it assists them in managing such issues.
Could you provide more information on the programme and the panel?
The Afterwork about “IP exploitation in open source software development” takes place on 13th October 2021 at Technoport in Belval, starting at 4:30 pm.
After the traditional welcome speech, the roundtable seminar will introduce practices in the open source software (OSS) area with testimonies from two software companies, RCDev Security and SMILE. RCDevs Security Platform is a fast-growing Luxembourgish startup providing high quality security software, and SMILE is a European leader in open source software.
Two IP experts will complement the testimonies and provide more insights in the topics developed, as well as propose practical “Do’s and Don’ts”. We will have the privilege to count this year on the participation of office LAVOIX and of the law firm /c law. We will cover aspects related to the definition of an open source strategy, the rules for using open source components, or the impact of open source on business models, etc.
“The use of open source components is ruled with specific licence terms and conditions, that is imperative to follow to avoid infringing others’ rights…”
Who is the event for and why?
All actors are concerned and should be aware of IP, and especially innovative businesses. Companies active in the open source software business are innovative, and they use IP on a daily basis. For instance, as soon as they use open source components, they must comply with the licensing terms of the software.
When exploiting a software, they are generally concerned with trademarks. Design can also be relevant as well as patents. As all developers and people involved in OSS are concerned, it is essential that they are well informed on such aspects.
What are the challenging IP issues in open source software development?
One of the main issues start with the name, “open source” software. It induces misunderstanding. People are confused and believe they are “free to use”. And this is not the case, open source does not mean open bar. The use of open source components is ruled with specific licence terms and conditions, that is imperative to follow to avoid infringing others’ rights and possible consecutive conflicts with their copyright owners, for example. And that falls within the scope of IP!
Therefore, we strongly recommend to the concerned people to join us next 13 October. The event is free of charge. However, registration is required on the event page.
