eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
If you were an open-source, non-profit developer and you needed legal help, you went to the Software Freedom Law Center. If, however, you were in the open-source business and you needed free software savvy legal help, finding a competent attorney could be a challenge. So it is that the SFLC has announced the formation of Moglen Ravicher.
This New York City-based law firm will represent select for-profit clients that support open software but aren’t otherwise eligible for SFLC’s pro bono services. Of course, there are existing law firms, such as Boston’s Gesmer Updegrove and Palo Alto, Calif.’s Carr & Ferrell, which also employ lawyers who know their way around the GPL (GNU Public License) and other open-source legal issues. The larger open-source companies, such as Red Hat, have their own in-house counsel.
Moglen Ravicher appears to be focusing on smaller open-source businesses. In a statement, Eben Moglen, founding director of SFLC, said, “We are pleased to extend the services of the Software Freedom Law Center to companies that support software freedom.”