Law360, New York ( March 3, 2015, 10:40 AM EST) -- According to Ernst & Young's Global Technology M&A Update for October-December 2014, global merger and acquisition deals in the technology sector are achieving post-dotcom-bubble records, showing significant growth in deal volume for a fourth consecutive quarter at 959 deals and reaching aggregate deal value of $237.6 billion in 2014 — higher than any year on record except 2000. Ernst & Young noted that deals targeting cloud/SaaS, smart mobility, Internet of things, security, and advertising and marketing technologies contributed considerably to the record-breaking aggregate volume and deal values in 2014. When this market activity is viewed in tandem with the fact that, according to Forrester Research Inc.'s Development Landscape for 2013, the overwhelming majority of software engineers and developers today incorporate open source software into their work, technology companies that intend to take advantage of the current market to grow their business through mergers and acquisitions should fully understand and address the issues surrounding the use of open source software in their business and its impact on potential dealmaking....