Black Duck Partners with BEITEN BURKHARDT in Germany to Manage Code Licensing Requirements as Part of Hybrid Development
WALTHAM, Mass., November 26, 2008—Black Duck Software, the leading global provider of products and services for accelerating software development through the managed use of open source software, today announced a partnership with BEITEN BURKHARDT, a leading independent, international law firm based in Frankfurt, Germany. The partnership will help companies fully benefit from hybrid software development, or development involving homegrown, open source and other third-party code.
Black Duck and BEITEN BURKHARDT will offer joint products and services for German companies that need to manage licensing requirements on code they incorporate into developed applications. For a given customer, Black Duck’s automation solutions will identify and evaluate the licensing requirements on code, and BEITEN BURKHARDT will counsel the company on best practices so that licensing issues do not negatively impact the business.
“Developers do not need to create code in a vacuum, as they have a massive resource of proven open source code available to them to make development faster, easier and less expensive,” said Peter Vescuso, senior vice president of marketing for Black Duck Software. “However, every piece of code has its own licensing obligations that can affect what you can do with your project once it’s complete. Black Duck and BEITEN BURKHARDT are now in a position to offer companies the best framework for managing open source code use.”
Companies around the world are using Black Duck’s products and services to capitalize on hybrid development by managing licensing requirements and checking for security issues on code incorporated into applications. Corporate policies regarding open source use—which can be influenced by outside counsel such as BEITEN BURKHARDT—can be put in place by Black Duck’s automation solutions so that companies realize hybrid development’s full benefits, which include creating more effective applications for customers.
“Whenever a company sells software to the general public or deploys it internally, they need to know whether their code contains open source software, and they need a solid accounting of any legal risks,” said Dr. Stephan Witteler, partner with of BEITEN BURKHARDT and head of the firm’s ICT-practise. “These companies could be opening themselves up to legal obligations and copyright infringement. They may even be forced to take a product off the market or face production delays. Our joint efforts with Black Duck can eliminate these possibilities.” added his colleague, Dr. Fabian Schäfer, OSS-expert in BEITEN BURKHARDT’s ICT-practise.
Black Duck’s partnership with BEITEN BURKHARDT is the latest example of Black Duck’s close work with legal firms. In addition, the partnership showcases Black Duck’s continued international success. The company currently operates from offices in Amsterdam, Hong Kong and in the U.S. and has a presence in 18 countries.
About BEITEN BURKHARDT
Beiten Burkhardt is an independent international law firm that provides advice on all aspects of commercial law to medium-sized companies, large corporations and various industry groups, as well as to the public sector. Along with its offices in Germany, Beiten Burkhardt has a strong international presence in Eastern Europe, China and Brussels. The firm also cooperate closely with other prestigious law firms in key markets. Beiten Burkhardt renders legal services worldwide, with more than 390 lawyers working in 13 offices: Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hong Kong, Kyiv, Moscow, Munich, Nuremberg, Shanghai, St. Petersburg and Warsaw. For further information see www.beitenburkhardt.com.
About Black Duck Software
Black Duck Software is the leading global provider of products and services for accelerating software development through the managed use of open source and third-party code. Black Duck™ enables companies to shorten time-to-market and reduce development and maintenance costs while mitigating the risks and challenges associated with open source reuse, including hidden license obligations, security vulnerabilities, unsupported open source and version proliferation. The company is headquartered near Boston and has offices in San Francisco, Amsterdam and Hong Kong, as well as distribution partners throughout the world. For more information, visit www.blackducksoftware.com.
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Black Duck, Know Your Code and the Black Duck logo are registered trademarks of Black Duck Software, Inc. in the United States and other jurisdictions. Koders is a trademark of Black Duck Software, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
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