Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux and hero to many Open Source users, might not be the first person one might think would be honored by an organization of lawyers, but that's exactly what's happening. The International Technology Law Association will award Torvalds its ITechLaw Achievement Award at their upcoming 40th anniversary celebration.

The International Technology Law Association (ITechLaw, for short) is an organization that represents lawyers in the technology sector. They provide a forum for discussing issues and organize conferences on emerging information technology and intellectual property law. They will be holding their annual World Technology Law Conference and Annual Meeting in San Francisco this May.

The ITechLaw Achievement Award is given to the individual who has made a significant achievement in technology and this year Linus Torvalds is that individual. Sandra A. Jeskie, president of ITechLaw, said, "As IT attorneys, we have a huge respect for what Linus Torvalds has achieved at a technical level. But, we also see the related benefits that open source development continues to bring and the way Linux has changed the way we contract for software and influenced licensing trends in general."

Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, will be accepting the award for Torvalds.