Eric Lewis
@ericandrewlewis
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3041530/13558975_10105085240134809_2352049730922963049_o.jpg)
🗽 Lives in NYC
📰 Web Developer @ NYTimes
👣 WordPress Core Committer
🚫⚖ Not a lawyer
A Brief History of Ownership in Software*
*in the United States
🚫⚖ Not a lawyer??
🚫⚖ Not a lawyer??
You don't need a law degree to understand software ownership
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3041651/doc4e3712f2ee3622690189801.jpg)
Ownership (Intellectual Property)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3073542/261317950.jpg)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3073544/Lego_PatentDrawing1.jpg)
Patent
Copyright
Trade Secret
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3073551/Coke_12oz.png)
Trademark
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3074401/nike_swoosh.jpg)
Ownership (Intellectual Property)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3073542/261317950.jpg)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3073544/Lego_PatentDrawing1.jpg)
Patent
Copyright
Trademark
Trade Secret
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3073551/Coke_12oz.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3074401/nike_swoosh.jpg)
How a thing works
Expression
Company secret
Stamp of authenticity
Making knowledge is expensive,
using knowledge is cheap.Â
The pitch for software ownership
Maya is inventing a new bike. She invests time and money into research and prices the bike accordingly. Probably change this to a drawing, no need for tons of text.
Research | $1,000 |
Cost to build one | $20 |
Sales price | $150 |
Maya makes a bike
Research | $0 |
Cost to build one | $20 |
Sales price | $75 |
Drawing of the Copyright and Patent acts, which are what the pitch is for
What is a Patent?
Public disclosure of a "process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter"
20 years of exclusive ownership over implementations
Â
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3073544/Lego_PatentDrawing1.jpg)
What is a Patent?
Dissect a patent, draw out a sample one
What is a Patent?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3043341/US08246454-20120821-D00009.png)
"System for converting television commercials into interactive networked video games "
https://www.google.com/patents/US8246454
Patent grants allow you to use a patent someone else owns
Maya's bike
show that the other dude can't sell his bike because maya applied for a patent
Google PageRank
drawing of pagerank paper by larry and sergey
Google PageRank
drawing of how pagerank works
1-click Patent
https://www.google.com/patents/US5960411
The GIF Patent
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3056477/giphy.gif)
The GIF Patent
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3073494/Screen_Shot_2016-10-03_at_2.26.26_PM.png)
The GIF Patent
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3073512/2000px-Unisys_logo.svg.png)
GIF Patent?
"The patent system is broken" — EFF
patent trolls?
patent arms race?
Patent grants?
https://www.eff.org/patent
What is a copyright?
Ownership of the use and reproduction of an expression for 75+ years
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3074420/261317950.jpg)
What is a copyright?
Code is a "non-dramatic literary work"
Â
maybe mention how you don't own copyright at work
Software licenses let you use someone else's copyrighted code
What is a trade secret?
Protected information that gives a company economic advantage
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3073551/Coke_12oz.png)
What is a trademark?
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3074446/nike_swoosh.jpg)
An icon that proves the thing came from a specific organization
What is a trademark?
An icon that proves the thing came from a specific organization
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3074449/Screen_Shot_2016-10-03_at_7.25.55_PM.png)
Who "owns" code?
The author?
The company the author works for?
Someone else?
Software licenses grant the right to software you don't own
Software licenses grant specific rights:
Â
Run the program
Modify code
Redistribute
Patent grant
etc.
2003
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3074506/hail-thief.jpg)
2003
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3074510/the-matrix-revolutions.11797.jpg)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3074511/matrixreloaded.jpg)
2003
Movable Type 2.6
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3074531/Screen_Shot_2016-10-03_at_8.11.05_PM.png)
Movable Type 2.6 license disallowed redistribution
Movable Type 3.0 license charges $100s per site
[WordPress is] a path forward. Movable Type is a dead end. In the long run, the utility of all non-Free software approaches zero.
Mark Pilgrim
Â
http://web.archive.org/web/20070911032533/http://diveintomark.org/archives/2004/05/14/freedom-0
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3076575/Richard_Matthew_Stallman.jpeg)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3076577/gccegg-65.png)
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3076580/Screen_Shot_2016-10-04_at_8.12.42_AM.png)
Drawing of Richard Stallman's idea of users
Â
users think that they are in control of what happens on their computer
when in fact the software is in control
you are controlled by your software
![](https://s3.amazonaws.com/media-p.slid.es/uploads/416418/images/3041730/NicoBZH_-_Richard_Stallman__by-sa___10_.jpg)
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By Eric Lewis
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