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by mchahn 2857 days ago
I've never heard of an open-source lawyer. I understand totally how valuable it is to litigate open-source issues, but I'm curious as to who pays for such services? Being able to pay lawyers seems unlikely for a free product.
5 comments

10 out of 10 of the largest tech firms in the world release significant opensource software: Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Alibaba, Intel, Oracle, Samsung and Baidu. They turnover more then $1 trillion and use many lawyers.
Any company that either uses open source code or releases open source code needs competent advice. Asking for such advice from a lawyer unfamiliar with open source is probably pretty expensive.
It's just a lawyer who is conversant with issues surrounding software under open source licenses.
As real world application of open source licenses is rather complex (I would say: A nightmare) you definitely should consult a lawyer if you want to put sth. Open Source. Btw. it gets even more complex if you think about application under local laws of multiple countries.
You might want to start here: https://www.softwarefreedom.org/