Writing for Wall Street & Technology, Matt McKenzie captures the big picture regarding the Furthermore versus Mambo dispute.  Here's an excerpt from his article "Fight At The Open-Source Corral":

"Ask the potential customers who see this nonsense and wonder if dealing with open-source software might be more trouble than it's worth. Miro can dismiss Connolly as a maniac, and it can stir the pot with calls for support and solidarity from the open-source community. But if Connolly does have a case, how many businesses will touch Mambo with a ten-foot pole until that case is settled?

There's the rub for the open-source community, where "dispute resolution" all too often means trading insults until one side gives up and stalks away. This tendency to turn even minor disputes into religious wars could make open-source software too risky and too expensive for companies that value relationships with reliable, stable vendors. It's time for open-source companies to find a better way to settle these conflicts."

For the complete article, click here.

Here's an excerpt from the latest in a series of articles tracking the Furthermore versus Mambo dispute. eWEEK's Senior Editor Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols writes,

"Despite stories you may have read elsewhere, Futhermore's legal claims against the Mambo community are still as good, or bad, as they ever were. One of the problems with this fight has been that many open-source supporters keep trying to see it as a battle between good open-source people and evil proprietary software goons. It's not. It never was.

As Philip H. Albert, a partner in the San Francisco-based law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP, told me last week, "This is, as described, not really an open-source case. It's more a matter of copyright infringement and contract law where it just so happens that the people being accused do open source.'"

For the complete article, click here.

Peter Lamont, CEO of Miro International Pty Ltd., has lobbed the latest volley in the ongoing cat fight over the copyrighted open-source Mambo content management system. Lamont is now claiming that the OSSI (Open Source Software Institute) sided with Furthermore Inc. and that, therefore, Miro executives will not talk with either organization.

For the complete article, click here.

Here Furthermore responds point by point to a recent Newsforge's Op-Ed piece, "Closing the legal briefcase on Mambo vs. Furthermore copyright dispute".  On a number of critical issues, columnist Jem Matzan missed the mark.  But his biggest mistake was in calling the game.  This battle is far from over; and while it continues, users remain at risk.

Attorney Philip H. Albert, in his analysis for LinuxInsider, makes it clear just how unclear some of these issues are.

"This issue cannot be resolved cleanly without lawyers and judges. Settlement among the parties does not make law, nor does mediation or arbitration. Until a court rules on a case or the legislative or executive branch provides new law on the subject, the issue will remain unresolved."

 For the complete article, click here.