Bob Zeidman - The Software IP Detectives Handbook: Measurement, Comparison, and Infringement Detection

Measurement, Comparison, and Infringement Detection

Robert Zeidman

Software Analysis and Forensic Engineering Corporation

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Copyright 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

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ISBN-13: 978-0-13-703533-5

ISBN-10: 0-13-703533-0

Text printed in the United States on recycled paper at Courier in Westford, Massachusetts.

First printing, April 2011

This book is dedicated to all those who attempt to do things that others say are wrong or impossible, and to all those who encourage them.

As a frequent expert witness myself, I found Bobs book to be important and well written. Intellectual property and software plagiarism are complicated subjects, as are patents and copyrights. This book explains the key elements better than anything else I have seen. The book is highly recommended to anyone who develops software and also to those who need to protect proprietary software algorithms. The book should also be useful to attorneys who are involved with intellectual property litigation.

Capers Jones, president, Capers Jones & Associates, LLC

Intellectual property [IP] is an engine of growth for our high-tech world and a valuable commodity traded in its own right. Bob Zeidman is a leading authority on software IP, and in this book he shares with us his expertise. The book is comprehensive. It contains clear explanations of many difficult subjects. Businesspeople who study it will learn how to protect their IP. Lawyers will use it to understand the specifics of how software embodies IP. Judges will cite it in their decisions on IP litigation.

Abraham Sofaer, George P. Shultz Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy and National Security Affairs, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Bob has done a fantastic job in making computer science forensics understandable to mere mortals: attorneys, engineers, and managers. This is the ultimate handbook for expert witnesses, due diligence execution, and developing a baseline for software valuation. Buy it before your competitors do!

Don Shafer, CSDP, chief technology officer, Athens Group, LLC

Bob has considerable experience in dealing with issues associated with unauthorized use of software code. His insights in this book are particularly helpful for those seeking to provide expert analysis with respect to software code.

Neel I. Chatterjee, partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLC

This readable book perfectly bridges the jargon divide between software engineers and IP attorneys. It helps each group finally understand exactly what the other is talking about. As a software developer and expert witness I will definitely keep a copy handy and recommend it to others on my team.

Michael Barr, president, Netrino, LLC

This book makes intellectual property law understandable and accessible to programmers by combining discussions of the law with discussions of computer science, and interweaving case studies to elucidate the intersection of these disciplines.

Robert C. Seacord, Secure Coding Manager, Software Engineering Institute

This book is generally about software intellectual property and specifically about the field of software forensics. While you may never testify in a courtroom, attempt to deduce the true owner of a valuable program, or measure the intellectual property (IP) value of software source code, if you are at all involved with software you need to know how to protect your rights to that software. This book will give you an understanding of those rights, their limitations, how to protect those rights, and how to take action against someone or some organization that you believe has infringed on those rights.

Unlike digital forensics, which studies the bits and bytes on a digital storage medium, such as a hard disk or DVD-ROM, without a deep understanding of what those ones and zeros represent, software forensics studies the software code that instructs a computer to perform operations. Software forensics discovers information about the history and usage of that software for presentation in a court of law. It combines information and techniques from computer science, mathematics, and law in a way that is unique and, I believe, particularly interesting.

This book contains overviews as well as in-depth information about law, mathematics, and computer science. The book is organized into chapters that describes the organization of the book in detail and allows you to choose those chapters that are most relevant to your career and your interests.

This book is for anyone interested in software intellectual property. Specifically, I believe the book will appeal to computer scientists, computer programmers, business managers, lawyers, engineering consultants, expert witnesses, and software entrepreneurs. While the focus is on software IP measurement, comparison, and infringement detection, the book also has useful information about many issues related to software IP, and I believe that many people involved with software will find the book valuable and interesting.