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Patents and the Penguin

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the something-to-think-about dept.

In an article entitled Patents and the Penguin, the non-partisan Alexis de Tocqueville Institute observes, "[i]t is not uncommon today for patent fights to erupt even between parties that have engaged in rigorous diligence. By contrast, open source developers and distributors do not engage in patent searches, thus, there is a real possibility we will see a major patent fight involving open source, sooner than later. The article also ominously warns: "IBM will be competing with large Linux-based developers and distributors themselves. As the deployment of Linux increases, it can be expected that IBM will be going head-to-head with its "friends" in the Linux community. It is unquestionable that the biggest irony of all will be when Big Blue resorts to using its war chest of patents against a "friend" in the Linux community." Even Homer Simpson can see this coming.

8 of 251 comments (clear)

  1. Open Source Apocalypse by tedgyz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Sadly, I believe this threat will ultimately make the SCO debacle pale in comparison.

    --
    "No matter where you go, there you are." -- Buckaroo Banzai
    1. Re:Open Source Apocalypse by jrexilius · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Why would we list more babblings of ADTI as news? I personally had a run-in with them over their last "whitepaper" about the evils and perils of open source in use by the government.

      They are unreasonably biased either because of the funding they receive from microsoft (which I beleive funded that last paper) or due to outdated views and limited understanding of competition and capatilism as it relates to software.

      Sadly, this topic is pertinent but less from IBM and more from Microsoft and their slew of patents surrounding Longhorn. SCO's case will die but MS has figured out that they can beat OS through the legal system rather than through competition.

  2. Re:Seems less likely by HBI · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's very unlikely indeed. People who worry about this don't understand IBM very well. IBM makes money - they will continue to make money for time immemorial because their method of doing business is a time-tested and good one. They have little to no interest in Linux software as a product. They are interested in support and ancillary services for large corporate clients. They aren't going to change their focus because they know where the money is.

    To them, OSS isn't a stick to beat Microsoft with. It's a means of ensuring their dominance in the delivery of computing power and corporate support. If everyone runs a generic OS, that benefits IBM, as long as that OS isn't proprietary.

    --
    HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
  3. Re:Seems Unlikely by NighthawkFoo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    IBM allows anyone to license any and/or all of its patents. All you have to do is give them a call and they will be more than happy to work out an agreement with you. The large patent portfolio is more of a defensive measure - if IBM is sued, it's more than likely that they can countersue with a few choice patent violations.

    Bottom line - don't sue IBM unless you are sure you haven't infringed on ANY of their IP.

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
    - Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  4. IBM gets it, so far by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I think IBM recognizes that it's getting free labor from the community. I don't think they'll flex their patent muscles over that w/r/t Linux, unless some corporate goomer tries to prevent them from getting their free labor and goodwill (coughSCOugh). Other software that competes with stuff they sell? That's another matter.

    Microsoft, reportedly, is patenting everything in sight. As the IBM portfolio begins to expire they may begin to rival IBM in active software and process patents. The real concern is in the application layer and interoperability protocols. This area is infinitely variable and still offers some hope for profitability, if a company can get a lock on a needed software function. Expect to see hostile action and possible barratry against security protocols, multimedia projects, groupware, web application interfaces and maybe even virtual machine systems. These are all areas where research is done and new ideas are being tried, and probably areas where MS and IBM are filing new software patents. They are certainly areas where MS and IBM hope to make money on software or delivery of unique services. Patents are a way to keep their offerings (legally) unique.

  5. Solution: sue the patent office by Sebby · · Score: 4, Interesting
    1. sue the patent office for not doing their job when we find plenty of prior art for all the trivial patents


    2. force them to open up their approval process to the public so that these trivial patents won't even get approved as a condition of winning #1.


    3. Freedom!

    --

    AC comments get piped to /dev/null
  6. Non Partisan? Really?? by maroberts · · Score: 4, Interesting

    A rummage of Slashdot shows that they did an earlier FUD article on associating Terrorism with the GPL. It was suspected that it the institute was inflenced or funded by Microsoft

    --

    Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
    Karma: Chameleon

  7. A few questions.. by Ckwop · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Call my stupid.. but how exactly do you sue an open source project? I can understand suing Redhat or Suse.. but what about non-commericial distributions?
    How could a judge award damages for lost revenue when you didn't make any money out of their idea anyway?

    Simon.