Black Duck Software, the leading global provider of software compliance management solutions, today announced protexIP™/development 4.4, which includes features specific to recent open source project license changes. The newest version of Black Duck’s platform that helps ensure software code is in compliance with licensing requirements also offers a significantly enhanced KnowledgeBase, a library of open source and vendor-added code software components that includes detailed licensing information for more than 140,000 components.

Last month, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) concluded a community process and released its GNU General Public License (GPL), version 3, and more than 300 open source projects have already published code under the new license. protexIP assist developers and legal counsel in managing the use of code from open source and other projects that have both decided to explicitly switch to GPLv3 and those that have decided not to switch. GPLv3 is not compatible with certain earlier versions of GPL, and therefore developers must carefully assemble their applications, paying close attention to the GPL license versions that apply to the various open source components they utilize.

“A portion of the market was sitting on the fence, but the delivery of GPLv3 has dislodged enterprise interest in open source and component identification and code reuse,” said Douglas Levin, president and CEO of Black Duck Software. “Black Duck has closely followed the GPLv3 license development process. Company executives participated on a committee that worked with the FSF during the drafting process and recommended license changes. Black Duck now brings to market capabilities in a release of protexIP that make it easier for our customers to incorporate code governed by the new license or manage internal policies regarding use of code governed by new licensing parameters.”

With protexIP 4.4, Black Duck is also releasing the largest expansion ever to its KnowledgeBase, more than doubling its size. The new protexIP KnowledgeBase data include known open source project changes related to the new GPL license, and Black Duck will update the KnowledgeBase as more and more open source projects determine their GPL licensing plans.

At the same time as releasing GPLv3, the Free Software Foundation also released a new version of the GNU Lesser GPL (LGPL), version 3. Based on the KnowledgeBase updates, Black Duck users can rely on protexIP to identify and manage components governed by GPLv2, GPLv3, LGPLv2 and LGPLv3 and many other licenses. The solution identifies components within open source projects that have decided not to switch to GPLv3 or have simply not made a decision, as well as projects that, like the Linux kernel, have explicitly stated that they are not licensable under GPLv3. protexIP customers set policies through the product to dictate whether developers can use code governed by the various licenses, and the solution ensures throughout the development process that licenses governing code are not in conflict with each other or with company policy.

The new protexIP KnowledgeBase also captures and tracks other significant code component information, resulting from community discussion related to important open source issues raised through the creation of GPLv3. The KnowledgeBase will provide information on:

• Patent license grants: Express provisions that provide patent licenses pertaining to the work.
• Patent retaliation clauses: Provisions that automatically terminate the license to the work if there is a patent suit brought based on the work.
• Anti-DRM clauses: Provisions that prevent use of code as a “technical protection measure” or other means to prohibit modification and copying of code.

Black Duck is demonstrating protexIP 4.4 this week at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco. Black Duck is exhibiting in booth 702 in the Novell Partner Pavilion at the conference, which takes place August 6 thru 9 in the Moscone Conference Center.

Black Duck is hosting a webinar to provide an overview of protexIP 4.4 on August 29 at 2 p.m. eastern time. For more information, visit the Black Duck website at http://www.blackducksoftware.com.

Administrative Enhancements
protexIP has always offered enterprise-class systems administration. After customer input, the company has added additional administration features to protexIP 4.4, including:

• User-added comments for attributes. Users can now add their own annotations about specific license requirements. For example, legal advisors can annotate the requirements to explain a company’s interpretation of the requirement.
• Improved administration. Black Duck customers can now use their LDAP directories to manage user access to the system.
• Enhanced remote management. From the administrative GUI, protexIP 4.4 provides a comprehensive view of server functions, including what code analyses are in progress, who is accessing the service, etc.

Pricing and Availability
protexIP/development 4.4 will be available after Labor Day in September 2007. Pricing is based on the size of the code base managed by protexIP and the number of users accessing the solution. The new version and KnowledgeBase are delivered to existing protexIP customers automatically via a web update when available.

About Black Duck Software
Black Duck Software™ is the leading provider of software compliance management solutions that help companies govern how software assets are created and managed. Black Duck’s offerings help businesses take maximum advantage of open source software while at the same time ensure that they satisfy the obligations associated with the code they use. Black Duck’s customer base includes enterprises, product developers, outsourcers, law firms and other organizations worldwide that are concerned with protection of software intellectual property. For more information about Black Duck, visit www.blackducksoftware.com.

Black Duck Software is a registered trademark, and the Black Duck logo, exportIP, protexIP, and Know Your Code are trademarks of Black Duck Software, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.