Five Linux Companies Buy Software Patents

An anonymous reader writes "In order to protect themselves against patent grabbing 'trolls,' major Linux companies are buying software patents through a nonprofit company called Open Invention Network. This nonprofit company will then offer royalty-free licenses to companies and individuals that agreed not to assert their own patents."

Comments

Do you have to have patents to join?

[RandoX]

Or can you agree not to assert future patents?

Patents are not a defence

[Gopal.V]

Mutually assured destruction with patents work when the other company you are dealing with is a technology company shipping real software which could violate one of your own. It just doesn't work when you are dealing with the modern lawyer companies which hold patents merely to sue the pants off the big/little/ guy who comes under their sights

IBM, Sony, Phillips and Novell aren't really Linux companies - they know that Free/Open/Libre software is the only way they are going to utilize the vastly under-utilized creative urges of the hackers of the world to fight their own enemies. GNU/Linux is just a primary weapon in their arsenal and they just want to keep it sharp.

Even more sadly, the more we use patents to fight patents, the less backing the fight against software patents is going to get. To quote:

They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither.

Re:Patents are not a defence

[xigxag]

^ True, but this may accomplish two things:

1) Keep the alliance members in bed with one other, similar to the way that royal families throughout time have used marriage bonds to create extended relationships and maintain peace among kingdoms.

2) Dissuade Microsoft from exercising its "nuclear option" in a desperate measure to fend off the rise of Linux.