Carlo Piana

Abstract:"When Cloud Computing Gets Cloudy"

Cloud computing is the buzzword of the moment. Any company announcing a move to provide Cloud computing (CC), or Software As a Service (SaAS) increases its stock value. Is it actually something new, a paradigm change or just an evolution of something we already knew? Is it the new IT bubble? And legally, what are the challenges, the threats and the opportunities that CC? The recent Microsoft – T-Mobile misshap, where the two companies managed to lose a considerable amount of users' data seems to suggest that while people is concerned by new issues, getting back to the basics is also advisable, like “have a redundant backup”. Also for Free Software there is something new, something old, something borrowed. If CC is a paradigm shift, Free Software is best placed to be THE driving force. But CC is – unlike “traditional” computing – a way to hand over the control of the IT infrastructure. Others are in the lead, others take all the decisions, the user just connects to the outlet. Copyleft relies on copyright, but needs distribution to be triggered, and in SAaS does not involve distribution. What's at stake for us? What we can do? Is it possible to have a less cloudy sky?

Biography

Carlo Piana is a lawyer by training and a Free Software advocate by passion. He has been practising IT law for more than 15 years, first as part of bigger law firms, then focussing his practice on software, technology, standardization, data protection and digital liberties in general. General Counsel to the Free Software Foundation Europe, he advises small, medium and large Free Software projects, public authorities (such as the Regione Emilia Romagna) as well as private clients ranging from SMEs to Fortune 100 corporations. Some of his activities have hit the headlines, such as the epic and multi-front antitrust battle between the EC Commission and Microsoft – where he represents both the FSFE and the Samba Team – the standardization of OOXML at ISO/IEC and more recently defending Oracle in its attempted acquisition of Sun Microsystem. While being practising as a solo lawyer, he has formed an initiative coordinating various independent IT- and Free Software-concerned colleagues in Italy: Array (http://arraylaw.eu). He publishes a blog on Digital Liberties: “Law is Freedom” (http://piana.eu) and walks his talk.