Black Duck's protexIP 4.4 Features and Expanded KnowledgeBase Help Firms With GPL License Changes.New Product Version Simplifies and Streamlines Management of Components Governed by Various Versions of GPL See GNU General Public License. 1. GPL - General Purpose Language. 2. GPL - ["A Sample Management Application Program in a Graphical Data-driven Programming language", A.L. Davis et al, Digest of Papers, Compcon Spring 81, Feb 1981, pp. 162-167]. License and Patent-Related License Language, Greatly Increases Code Reuse Code reuse, also called software reuse, is the use of existing software, or software knowledge, to build new software. Ad hoc reuse has been practiced from the earliest days of programming. Programmers have always reused sections of code, templates, functions, and procedures. by Developers SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden -- Black Duck Software, the leading global provider of software compliance management solutions, today announced protexIP[TM]/development 4.4, which includes features specific to recent open source project license changes. The newest version of Black Duck's platform that helps ensure software code is in compliance with licensing requirements also offers a significantly enhanced KnowledgeBase, a library of open source and vendor-added code software components that includes detailed licensing information for more than 140,000 components. Last month, the Free Software Foundation (FSF FSF - Free Software Foundation ) concluded a community process and released its GNU General Public License A software license from the Free Software Foundation (FSF) that ensures every user receives the essential freedoms that define "free" software, which is free of restrictions (see free software). (GPL), version 3, and more than 300 open source projects have already published code under the new license. protexIP assist developers and legal counsel in managing the use of code from open source and other projects that have both decided to explicitly switch to GPLv3 and those that have decided not to switch. GPLv3 is not compatible with certain earlier versions of GPL, and therefore developers must carefully assemble their applications, paying close attention to the GPL license versions that apply to the various open source components they utilize. "A portion of the market was sitting on the fence, but the delivery of GPLv3 has dislodged enterprise interest in open source and component identification and code reuse," said Douglas Levin, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Black Duck Software. "Black Duck has closely followed the GPLv3 license development process. Company executives participated on a committee that worked with the FSF during the drafting process and recommended license changes. Black Duck now brings to market capabilities in a release of protexIP that make it easier for our customers to incorporate code governed by the new license or manage internal policies regarding use of code governed by new licensing parameters." With protexIP 4.4, Black Duck is also releasing the largest expansion ever to its KnowledgeBase, more than doubling its size. The new protexIP KnowledgeBase data include known open source project changes related to the new GPL license, and Black Duck will update the KnowledgeBase as more and more open source projects determine their GPL licensing plans. At the same time as releasing GPLv3, the Free Software Foundation also released a new version of the GNU gnu (n  ) or wildebeest (wĭl`dəbēst'), large African antelope, genus Connochaetes. Lesser GPL (LGPL (Lesser GPL) See GNU General Public License. ), version 3.
Based on the KnowledgeBase updates, Black Duck users can rely on
protexIP to identify and manage components governed by GPLv2, GPLv3,
LGPLv2 and LGPLv3 and many other licenses. The solution identifies
components within open source projects that have decided not to switch
to GPLv3 or have simply not made a decision, as well as projects that,
like the Linux kernel The nucleus of the Linux operating system. The Linux kernel, which was developed by Linus Torvalds, was integrated with software from the GNU Project and other sources to create the actual Linux operating system. See Linux, GNU/Linux and kernel. , have explicitly stated that they are not
licensable under GPLv3. protexIP customers set policies through the
product to dictate whether developers can use code governed by the
various licenses, and the solution ensures throughout the development
process that licenses governing code are not in conflict with each other
or with company policy.
The new protexIP KnowledgeBase also captures and tracks other significant code component information, resulting from community discussion related to important open source issues raised through the creation of GPLv3. The KnowledgeBase will provide information on: * Patent license grants: Express provisions that provide patent licenses pertaining per·tain intr.v. per·tained, per·tain·ing, per·tains 1. To have reference; relate: evidence that pertains to the accident. 2. to the work. * Patent retaliation RETALIATION. The act by which a nation or individual treats another in the same manner that the latter has treated them. For example, if a nation should lay a very heavy tariff on American goods, the United States would be justified in return in laying heavy duties on the manufactures and clauses: Provisions that automatically terminate the license to the work if there is a patent suit brought based on the work. * Anti-DRM clauses: Provisions that prevent use of code as a "technical protection measure" or other means to prohibit modification and copying of code. Black Duck is demonstrating protexIP 4.4 this week at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco. Black Duck is exhibiting in booth 702 in the Novell Partner Pavilion at the conference, which takes place August 6 thru 9 in the Moscone Conference Center. Black Duck is hosting a webinar to provide an overview of protexIP 4.4 on August 29 at 2 p.m. eastern time. For more information, visit the Black Duck website at http://www.blackducksoftware.com. Administrative Enhancements protexIP has always offered enterprise-class systems administration. After customer input, the company has added additional administration features to protexIP 4.4, including: * User-added comments for attributes. Users can now add their own annotations about specific license requirements. For example, legal advisors can annotate annotate - annotation the requirements to explain a company's interpretation of the requirement. * Improved administration. Black Duck customers can now use their LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) A protocol used to access a directory listing. LDAP support is implemented in Web browsers and e-mail programs, which can query an LDAP-compliant directory. directories to manage user access to the system. * Enhanced remote management. From the administrative GUI (Graphical User Interface) A graphics-based user interface that incorporates movable windows, icons and a mouse. The ability to resize application windows and change style and size of fonts are the significant advantages of a GUI vs. a character-based interface. , protexIP 4.4 provides a comprehensive view of server functions, including what code analyses are in progress, who is accessing the service, etc. Pricing and Availability protexIP/development 4.4 will be available after Labor Day Labor Day, holiday celebrated in the United States and Canada on the first Monday in September to honor the laborer. It was inaugurated by the Knights of Labor in 1882 and made a national holiday by the U.S. Congress in 1894. in September 2007. Pricing is based on the size of the code base managed by protexIP and the number of users accessing the solution. The new version and KnowledgeBase are delivered to existing protexIP customers automatically via a web update when available. About Black Duck Software Black Duck Software[TM] is the leading provider of software compliance management solutions that help companies govern how software assets are created and managed. Black Duck's offerings help businesses take maximum advantage of open source software while at the same time ensure that they satisfy the obligations associated with the code they use. Black Duck's customer base includes enterprises, product developers, outsourcers, law firms This list of the world's largest law firms by revenue is taken from The Lawyer and The American Lawyer and is ordered by 2006 revenue:[1]
Black Duck Software is a registered trademark, and the Black Duck logo, exportIP, protexIP, and Know Your Code are trademarks of Black Duck Software, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. |
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