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IBM And Sony Form Linux Alliance
An anonymous reader writes "CNN is reporting that IBM, Sony, and Philips are creating a Linux adoption group. Called the 'Open Invention Network', it is intended to protect vendors and customers from patent royalty fees while using OSS." From the article: "Patents owned by OIN will be available without payment of royalties to any company, institution or individual that agrees not to assert its patents against others who have signed a license with OIN, when using certain Linux-related software. Traditionally, patents have been pursued for two primary reasons -- to defend one's own intellectual property or for barter to trade in cross-licensing agreements to gain access to other companies' patents. OIN represents a new form of cross-licensing that its backers say could spur innovation. "
This certainly seems like a good idea, but am I the only one that thinks that seeing Sony in this list is rather out of character, especially given Sony's recent actions?
"-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
The idea of an anti-patent patent trust is as old as the hills, but to see this much corporate clout behind it was unthinkable not five years ago. It feels like there's been a sea-change and I like it. More important than helping IBM and Sony fight Microsoft, if this idea gained momentum it could seriously roll back a lot of the current technical stagnation on account of software/algorithm patents.
Color me cautiously hopeful.
--Ryv
These three companies make their money in services and hardware-- ie. not software. I can't possibly imagine Microsoft joining given this. It would be like Microsoft and Oracle starting a group which would give out free hardware, and use the Open source community for free services (obviously hard to do). These hardware and service companies would want nothing to do with it.
Software patents are not acceptable, these companies and others pushing for a stable ABI (binary drivers) are attempting to co-opt linux. To accept this patent pledge we would first have to accept that software patents are acceptable, they are not. If these companies are not prepared to mount legal challenges to patentability of software, this is at best an empty and worthless gesture, at worst an attempt to undermine copyright protection for software authors.
Content sony only cares about pushing its wares but so does hardware sony. Hardware sony does not want people to not buy their hardware because it is to crippled while content sony does not want people to use their hardware to duplicate their content.
Then you got japan sony coming from a slightly different culture then the american "lets sue" sony.
But what I think is at the heart of this is the Sony that does not want to be owned by Microsoft. While the internet tv might not have happened I am sure there are people at sony that would dearly love the idea of them producing the "next pc". It is the only possibly explanation for Linux on the playstation sold by sony itself. They can't make a single cent profit on it. So why do it if not for learning wether it can be done?
Might it someday be possible to buy in the store a non-ms computer? Worse perhaps a computer that is not like today's pc's at all but far closer to say, oh a mobile phone?
MS has really screwed over every single company it has dealt with and the IBM Sony's of this world would dearly like to see a future were MS can't dictate so many terms.
It is basic economy. When your supplier controls you you are not in control. At the moment it is MS that control the PC and PC makers like sony don't like that.
So it is not out of character at all. Sony is just trying to get maximum profit. MS being toned down a bit means that sony can better dictate the terms, the terms probably being "we want more cash".
Simple really.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.