It’s a Floor Wax and a Dessert Topping

When a user of “open source” software uses it in violation of the license agreement, is the appropriate claim breach of contract or copyright violation? The issue is potentially significant because the usual remedy from breach of contract is monetary damages (which may be very little in the open source context) while a copyright violation is routinely remedied with an injunction.

Lawyer Mark Radcliffe of DLA Piper (left) has some critical words about a recent California decision that held that violation of the license agreement was a simple breach of contract.

[Frank Snyder]