A few thoughts as the three-day Open Source Content Management (OSCOM) Conference opens here this morning in Cambridge on the HLS campus.  Some of the key questions we (as the Berkman Center) are particularly interested in exploring:

* Interoperability of open source applications (including interop of blogging tools, which Dave Winer will address in his keynote and on his blog);

* Whether or not there’s a sustainable business model in open source (“You can’t make money on open source” is the title of the first panel, which Professor Charles Nesson is moderating);

* The interrelationship of various IP protections for open source, including a discussion of what the GPL really means and a look at various alternatives, including Creative Commons licenses; and,

* The production model of open source, a la Professor Yochai Benkler’s recent “Coase’s Penguin” article, which is a must read if you haven’t already.