April 29, 2005
Dan Bricklin Releases New Video to Help Software Developers Learn About Copyright Law and Open Source
NEWTON, Massachusetts (April 29, 2005) -- Software pioneer Dan Bricklin announced the availability of his training video which introduces software developers to the basic concepts of copyright law and software licensing with a special emphasis on Open Source Software.
"With the enormous growth in the availability of Open Source software on the Internet coupled with the SCO lawsuit against IBM, the corporate world has become very sensitive to copyright and licensing issues," said Mr. Bricklin. "The level of due diligence associated with fundraising and acquisitions has skyrocketed. Software license compliance has become a major item in software development. Unfortunately, legal training is not part of the background of most software developers. Many come from times when we didn't pay as much attention to copyright issues. In this video I try to bring people up to speed and get them to understand how legal issues are now part of the development process, just like quality assurance, usability, and accessibility. I show them that lawyers are new members of the development team who can help work through those issues."
Peter Schreiber, Esq., Supervising Attorney, Contracts and Legal Services Department, ESRI, Redlands, CA, said: "This video is the right idea at the right time. It's a very good presentation. The tone, pacing, and length of the presentation is well done. Mr. Bricklin brings a real-world developer credibility to the presentation."
The title of the video is "A Developer's Introduction to Copyright and Open Source: Why a Lawyer is a Developer's Friend" and runs 42 minutes. It is priced at $695 for use in corporate training. There is a $29.95 Evaluation Copy available for purchase by individuals and corporate evaluators.
Dan Bricklin is best known as the inventor of VisiCalc, the early computer spreadsheet program, and Dan Bricklin's Demo Program, an award-winning software prototyping tool for which he did all of the programming. He has both a degree in computer science from MIT and an MBA from Harvard, and has extensive experience in business and with legal issues (including as a party to lawsuits as well as being an expert witness). A recipient of numerous awards, he is a Fellow of both the Association of Computing Machinery and the Computer History Museum, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. The video's publisher, Software Garden, is the company he runs to produce and distribute his products and consulting services.
For further information visit www.softwaregarden.com/products/video, the product's main page on the Software Garden website.
Posted by Dan Bricklin
