Open Source Licensing: Software Freedom and Intellectual Property Law

Right Brain and Left Brain

Art is said to be the product of our right brain, the right hemisphere of our cerebral cortex that supposedly controls feelings and emotions. Scientific creations, it is said, are the product of our left brain, the left hemisphere that uses logic. Whether true or not, this bicameral description of the two products of human intellect—art and science—is useful to help us understand what we do when we create software.

Intellectual property law distinguishes these two kinds of intellectual creations. Our right brain creations are in the nature of expression, most often found in painting, music, fiction, and poetry. Our left brain creations are in the nature of idea, found in our scientific and technical innovations. Expressions ...