This article provides an overview of copyright ownership and is from the Internet Law and Business Handbook by Mark Radcliffe and Dianne Brinson. Copyright law is the one of the most fundamental laws which govern the use of open source software and understanding who owns the copyright for open source software is crtical.
Mark Radcliffe is a senior partner at DLA Piper and is the pro bono outside general counsel of the Open Source Initiative and represents many open source startups as well as advising large companies on their use of open source software.