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JBoss Offers Lawsuit Indemnification

Posted by simoniker on from the protected-shielded-sorted- dept.

prostoalex writes "JBoss Group offered its customers indemnification from potential legal problems related to patent violations and copyright lawsuits. According to Bob Bickel, JBoss VP, the move is intended to give customers more peace of mind when deciding whether to go with open-source software." The article also mentions Jboss' legal challenge to Apache Geronimo, of which Bickel said "...the letter to the Apache Software Foundation was never intended to be made public and said the conflict has been blown out of proportion."

8 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Just like SCO! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This whole "Pay us and you won't be sued" thing sure sounds like white-collar extortion to me.

    1. Re:Just like SCO! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      As of this afternoon, SCO's stock is at the lowest point since the middle of august.

      I think it's about time for them to say something silly again

  2. So, it's a trend... by Short+Circuit · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...but is it a good or bad one?

    It mollifies fears about switching to open-source software, but it does leave projects without a financial backing out in the cold.

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    1. Re:So, it's a trend... by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Mollifies fears? It's inventing fears! Fears based on an premise that flies in the face of legal tradition.

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      "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
      --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
  3. Perception by panxerox · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's just about customer perception, they know sco dosent have a case so why not offer it, no loss for them and only positive benifits.

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    "It's so convenient to have a system where everyone is a criminal" - A. Hitler
  4. In a way by Dagrush · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm glad it sounds like extortion. It'd be a sad day when you needed protection to use open source.

  5. Question by TnkMkr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have a questin about this whole indemnification thing. Why would I as someone who purchased or was even give a product from a comercial entity be worried about being sued if the comercial entity was using tech in violation of a patent?

    I mean as I understand it, it would be like all of the people who own a Xboxs are suddenly told that they have to pay Sony and additional $200 or be sued because MS used some propritary hardware in their counsle. Why wouldn't just MS be stuck holding the bag? Are not the customers protected by a good faith purchase agreement or something? Or would the task of sueing MS to get your $200 dollars back be left up to you (or some class action lawsuit)?

    I am sure I am oversimplifying the matter, but I'm hopping this be a starting point for an explination.

    Thanks

  6. Re:RTFA bois by enjo13 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How else do you expect this to work? JBoss is going to cover the costs of lawsuits for those that never contributed to JBoss the company in the first place?

    JBoss is 'free', and if you choose to use in the 'free beer' sense then you take on the risk of dealing with lawsuits. That's pefectly in keeping with the ideology of open source.. with freedom comes responsibility, and by taking advantage of something that is free you assume the risk of whatever comes out of that.

    If you choose to use JBoss the group, then they will guarantee you that it won't end up costing you lawsuit money if the lawyers come knocking. The code is free, the project is free, but the group that is using the project as a business is not. They charge money because this is how they make their living. Indemnification is just one more value-add that the JBoss commercial entity provides, and it's a good one in my opinion.

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