Re: consulting with attorneys

[Ellen Finnie Duranceau <efinnie@MIT.EDU>]

Here at MIT I can think of three areas where we tend to consult 
with our intellectual property attorney:

*whether a newly evolved form of license is valid or enforceable, 
such as shrinkwrap, clickwrap, passively mounted terms, etc., 
with their various strategies for clicking or indicating "I 
agree."

*when there is new legal language that is not related to the 
product or its use, such as requirements related to subpeonas or 
injunctions, new language about a UN treaty or convention, etc.

*when we want to know if certain licensors should be handled in a 
different way, based on the legal status of the provider or 
product-- such as small GIS licenses from small government 
bodies.

Ellen Duranceau