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CA Releases Patents to OSS

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the moving-in-the-right-direction dept.

simonfairfax writes "ComputerWorld reports that Computer Associates International has released 14 patents to the opensource community, following IBM's lead. From the article: 'CA said it is joining IBM in encouraging other companies to create an industrywide "patent commons" in which patents are pledged royalty-free to further innovation in areas of broad interest to developers and users of IT.'"

4 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Matter meets anti-matter by Kosmatos · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wait a minute... If the open-source community now "owns" patents, what happens when they start using that new version of the GPL that prohibits use by patent owners? They won't be able to use their own code!

    Suckers :)

    --
    I'm your huckleberry
  2. Yay by PunkOfLinux · · Score: 5, Informative

    Looking through here, it seems like these aren't CA's lame ducks either...
    The actual list of patents can be found at CA's website

    --
    Show this to your friends and family that don't know what a real hacker is
  3. A nice gesture by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is a nice gesture, but it won't address the real problem, no matter how many companies "donate" patents.

    A patent pool could possibly help if it is actively defensive. In other words, it has to be structured like the GPL -- allowing some patent-pool entity to retaliate when a patent abuser like Amazon sues to enforce One-Click BS.

    It could work such that by joining the patent pool, you get the right to use all of its patents but in return you have to place all of your own patents in the pool. (Unfortunately, there are many loopholes in this system, like creating multiple corporations to bypass the responsibility provisions... Also, it does nothing to address the "patent factories" who churn out hundreds of patents on basic concepts while selling no actual product.)

    Anyway, the ideal solution is to get rid of software patents entirely. There is no reason for them to exist, except to allow people to monopolize ideas and hinder true invention.

  4. Arms race is not the answer by Kristoffer+Lunden · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A bad idea is a bad idea and should be opposed even if there would be some short term benefits to "do as they do". Starting to use patents would give this particular bad idea legitimacy and would only start another arms race. And we've seen how good that works for solving any problems...

    I think it's great that people have the guts, stamina and principles to do what they think is the long term right thing even though it's not the easy path.

    Software patents simple is a horrible and flawed idea and so it should never be acknowledged as a viable way forward.

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    Spine World