Dennis Kennedy

I'm thrilled to be part of a major St. Louis Open Source education event produced by the great people at Washington University's Center for the Application of Information Technology. Bill Darte at CAIT has outdone himself in putting together a group of sessions that address where the rubber meets the road in Open Source use and development.

It will take place on October 28th and 29th. I'll be covering the legal aspects of the Open Source licenses on the afternoon of the 28th and may sneak onto a panel or two on the 29th to provide some legal perspective. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to learning a lot of practical information about real world uses of Open Source software. Note the special fee arrangement for corporate counsel.

Here's a copy of the notice. Registration info may be found at http://www.cait.wustl.edu/courses/OPEN50.co

Open Source Software in the IT Mix

Description: This event will provide a comprehensive view of Open Source as an increasingly important IT alternative to the dominant commercial software alternatives. Across the board from niche security products to mainstream applications development these technologies are taking hold. Linux has made major inroads into the corporate server environment and even the dominant Windows desktop is increasingly threatened. Often thought of as ‘Free’ software, Open Source alternatives can pose a complicated licensing issue for organizations. Many other issues related to contracts, version updates and user enhancements cloud this realm of IT decision making. CAIT will explore this topic using Open Source experts and a panel of local IT professionals who are engaged in analysis or implementation of Open Source solutions.

Audience: IT managers across all technologies will benefit from hearing what colleagues have to say about their Open Source experience. IT executives will benefit from the discussion about policy and licensing issues as will corporate Legal Counsel.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites.

Objectives: After completing this seminar, participants will be able to:

Evaluate open source alternatives
Understand legal and licensing issues
Know of other open source initiatives in St. Louis

Course Outline:

Day 1
Open Source: A complicated but Important Issue for IT (David Shields - IBM)
Open Source License Legal Issues - Does "Free" Really Mean Free? ** (Dennis Kennedy – Washington University Law School)

** Corporate Attorneys from CAIT Member Companies may attend this session at no charge. 3.6 CLE credits will be awarded for this session through the Missouri Bar.

Day 2

Open Source Alternatives
Linux on the Desktop (Pulitzer Inc.)
Linux as a Server Platform (Tsunami Research)
Open Source Security Tools (Maritz)
Developing Applications with Open Source Technology (Global Velocity)
Open Source Network Management Tools (Maritz)
Other Rational Open Source Policy (CAIT – Washington University)

Pricing

Pricing for 1st Individual
CAIT$ $ 610
Member $ 670
Non-Member $ 820

Pricing for all additional Individuals (1/2 price)
CAIT$ $ 305
Member $ 335
Non-Member $ 410

Lunch is served daily

Note: My earlier articles on the Open Source licenses are now available on my new eBook called "Unlocking the Secrets of Technology Law and Legal Technology."