Saving Linux from the lawyers

• Tags:
• Stuart Cohen,
• Linux,
• Patent Commons,
• ODSL

Graeme Wearden ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 21 Nov 2005 11:05 GMT

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...been hearing from a number of customers who want interoperability between Windows on the server and Linux on the server.

But isn't Microsoft the big enemy? If anyone's going to bring legal action against Linux for alleged patent violation…
A lot of people who have a lot of patents have looked at this issue, and nothing's come of it. It's now a question of how we can make developers more productive.

So you aren't worried that Linux could be hit by an IP infringement case?
What was once a fear has now gone.

The Open Source Risk Management group claimed last year that Linux potentially violated over 200 patents. Are those patents all included in the Commons?
We can't say that. Those patents were never actually named, so no one knows which ones they are. But you're still confident that Linux is protected?

There's always been a suspicion that some of those patents were held by Microsoft. So, as Microsoft has not pledged any patents to the open source community, this could be an issue. But, our customer advisors speak to people, including major customers who run both Windows and Linux, and they say it's not an issue.

So, which other companies would you like to join the Commons?
There are several, including HP, Oracle, SAP, NEC. But now that the Commons is out there, giving developers a single place to check patents that have been pledged... who can not support that?

What's the incentive to pledge patents in this way?
Pledging patents creates the opportunity for more software, hardware, services to be developed around Linux.

So what's the difference between Patent Commons and the Open Innovation Network?
The two initiatives are complementary but different. The Open Innovation Network is acquiring patents and offering them on a licence-free basis. Although we may acquire a few patents, with Patent Commons the companies involved continue to own their patents.

We both have the intention of accelerating Linux – while they are Linux-only, we are supporting Linux and open source. It's a very compatible partnership.

Is there any crossover?
No, but they could pledge their patents to Patent Commons.

Would you like them to do that?
We'd probably expect them to, but we don't know it as a fact.

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