

NASA concludes first Open Source Summit, aims to make openness the default - Tsiolkovsky
http://opensource.com/life/11/3/nasa-concludes-first-open-source-summit-aims-make-openness-default

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rch
NASA is doing some strange things...

I've been using CLIPS as a library in expert systems for years. So, when NASA
announced that they were set to auction off some patents related to expert
systems, I started to wonder... What would happen if a government entity
released innovative code under a BSD/MIT style license, but at some point
decided to patent some key potential use cases? If the patents then found
their way into a corporation, early adopters might be left in an awkward
position. That is somewhat obliquely worded, but you get the gist.

So, I'd say that if NASA wants 'to make openness the default' they need to
start with their IP policies.

~~~
kenneth_reitz
They would likely go for the Apache license, which, while much longer,
provides precise rules for Patents.

