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Sun Grants Access to 1,600+ Patents

Posted by timothy on from the read-that-fine-print-closely dept.

Insane_zoD writes "Looks like Sun is attempting to keep up with IBM in opening up patents for FOSS-based projects. From the news release: 'By giving open source developers free access to Sun OpenSolaris related patents under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL), the company is fostering open innovation and establishing a leadership role in the framework of a patent commons that will be recognized across the globe.'"

6 of 285 comments (clear)

  1. Where is the license? by passthecrackpipe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Where is the license? All I see is a press release with vague language and much arm-waving. As I read the press release, the patents are only available for work in OpenSolaris (which as of now does not exist yet - only DTrace). Or work under the CDDL. Or both. Nowhere do I see a statement that says "use these patents with any OSI-approved licensed project, or indeed any clear statement as to right of use.

    Looks like there are some strings attached.

    --
    People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.
  2. Free like "Write code for us and we won't pay you" by Vo0k · · Score: 4, Insightful

    These patents can't be used in any code other than OpenSolaris.

    --
    Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
  3. Armsrace? by CAPSLOCK2000 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now this is a war I could enjoy. Sun & IBM in an armsrace on who is going to free the most patents. I hope other companies don't want to be left out and start participating...

  4. Translation: by Vo0k · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Take my patents freely. Sue me for violating your patents (rightfuly or not) and you can't use my patents anymore.

    --
    Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
  5. Re:Not as good as IBM by Halo1 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    IBM opened the 500 patents it opened without restriction.
    No, they didn't. The restriction is that their license is only valid for open source. I may be a less strict restriction than Sun's, but it still is an important one.
    --
    Donate free food here
  6. Re:Patents can be enforced against Linux by Bruce+Perens · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I agree, their participation so far appears to be cynical and they seem to intend to operate as a "spoiler", fragmenting the Open Source community rather than supporting it. Otherwise, we would see them dual-licensing with CDDL and GPL, and their patents wouldn't be barred from use in Linux.

    OpenOffice should be second in importance only to the Linux kernel among Open Source developers. And yet it has almost no developer community - IMO due to Sun's conduct. It's not clear that Sun has learned anything from that.

    Bruce

    --
    Bruce Perens.