Free Software is Copyrightable; Open Source Train Rolls On

A recent decision by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reassured members of the open source software movement by declaring that software distributed for free is still protectable by copyright. Open source software development thrives on continuous additions and improvements made by many different people, but attribution of preexisting code to the previous…

Tips For Negotiating With SAP

This is the first in a series of posts dealing with the SAP contract negotiation process. SAP’s  market dominance often leaves customers with little negotiating leverage.  Companies that have a well developed negotiation strategy, an understanding of SAP’s typical concessions, pricing structure and contractual “pain points,” greatly increase their chances of successfully negotiating with SAP. The…

SAP To Buy Visiprise

SearchSAP.com is reporting that SAP has announced its intention to purchase Visiprise, a software company that specializes in manufacturing execution.  The acquisition is intended to bolster integration capabilities with respect to NetWeaver as well as bolster  SAP’s strength in the manufacturing sector. Companies using Visiprise that do not also use SAP should be concerned about being forced…

Marcus Harris Speaks at Distribution Solutions Council

On June 12, Marcus Harris spoke to members of the Distribution Solutions Council (DSC) on software licensing and how to use the contract negotiation process as a competitive differentiator. The DSC is an industry round-table of software executives with an interest in serving the distribution marketplace, exploring new ideas beneficial to the industry and discussing best…