Torvalds comes out against EU patent directive
262820
In the statement, issued Tuesday, the three developers argued that the legislation, called the software patent directive, would be harmful to the European economy.
118639
Linux creator Linus Torvalds, in an interview being made public by the Linux Foundation Tuesday, stressed that version 2 of the GPL (GNU General Public License) still makes the most sense for the Linux kernel over the newer GPL version 3.GPL 3, which was released last year by the Free Software Foundation (FSF), reflects the FSF''s goals while GPL 2 closely matches what Torvalds thinks a license should do, Torvalds said.?"I want to pick the license that makes the most sense for what I want to do. And at this point in time, Version 2 matches what I think we want to do much, much better than Version 3," said Torvalds, who is now a fellow at the foundation. He was interviewed in late-October by Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin.Among GPL 3 highlights are protections against patent infringement lawsuits and provisions for license compatibility. Torvalds acknowledged he had spoken out against GPL 3 before it was released. He had opposed digital rights management provisions in early-2006, calling them burdensome.There could be a change in his stance, though, Torvalds said. GPL 2 basically has acted as a single license covering a huge bulk of source code. Version 3 splits this base with some projects covered by version 2 and others by version 3 or later, he said. Version 3 might be useful if "there ends up being tons of external code that we feel is really important and worthwhile that is under the version 3 license," said Torvalds.He added he cannot change the license on his own anymore. "I mean, because I have accepted code over the last 15 years by people who kind of accepted my original choice of the GPL Version 2, I?m not just, I think, ethically bound by those people?s choices, I am also actually legally bound," Torvalds said.Torvalds also was asked about the Linux development process being centered in North America and Europe despite Linux's now-global reach. Developers, Torvalds said, tend to come from countries with a high density of Internet access. While China and India have a lot of people, they have issues with Internet access, he said.Language and cultural barriers also present an issue. While some Asian countries have huge Internet use and a great deal of education, they do not contribute a lot to the kernel or other open-source projects, said Torvalds. South Americans, meanwhile, may not necessarily speak English but culturally, they are closer to Europe and the U.S., which makes it easier to enter the fray, according to Torvalds.?Asked why the kernel does not have a stable device driver ABI, Torvalds said one reason is that people ask for one but do not want to merge their source code into the stable kernel or the standard kernel."And that, in turn, means that all the people who actually do all the kernel work and maintain the kernel are basically unable to work with that piece of hardware and that vendor because if there are any bugs whatsoever, we can?t fix them," said Torvalds.Commercial vendors have moved away from wanting anything to do with binary drivers because they are not maintainable, he said.Torvalds said Linux started out as a hobby of his, but he has now been working on it full-time for the last four years.
251822
WIPO 'not flexible enough' The European Commission wants to create a new layer of intellectual property protections because it says existing structures such as WIPO are not flexible enough.â¦
570009
BRUSSELS -- The European Union's (E.U.'s) planned software patent rules represent a major threat to interoperability unless specific exemptions are made to the legislation, participants at a conference on the issue heard on Tuesday.
164483
(InfoWorld) - A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) official has joined the debate surrounding Apple Computer's proprietary digital music technology by criticizing European antitrust activities, butÂ groups attacking AppleÂ are defending their actions. Speaking in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general at the DOJ's antitrust division, warned that forcing companies to reveal their intellectual property stifles innovation. He used Apple as an example, in a nod toÂ growing discontent in EuropeÂ regarding the way that music purchased from iTunes is tied to the iPod. Architects of complaints against Apple in Europe say he's got it wrong. "We're not attacking intellectual property rights but saying they should be implemented in a way which doesn't dictate which player you use," said Torgeir Waterhouse, a senior advisor with the Norwegian Consumer Council. His organization filed a complaint to Norway's consumer representative, or ombudsman, arguing that it's illegal for Apple to limit iTunes customers to playing music from the store exclusively on iPods. Along with similar representatives in Denmark and Sweden, the Norwegian ombudsman asked Apple toÂ defend its policy. In a written reply, Apple said it won't budge on the issue but the company plans to meet representatives from the countries later this month to further discuss the issue. If Apple won't open up, the ombudsman will take the company to court. Waterhouse suggests that Apple could solve the problem by licensing its digital rights management technology to other device makers so that iTunes customers could choose among devices or opt for an open standard that would be compatible with more devices. Barnett's criticisms of European antitrust policy, including comments that the policy is aimed at helping competitors instead of consumers, are generally in line with comments from U.S. officials since the Bush administration came to power, said Scott Megregian, a partner and head of the European competition group in the law firm McDermott Will & Emery UK. He disagrees with the argument that requiring companies to open up some of their technology stifles innovation. "That's an argument without support," he said. "Microsoft hasn't stopped innovating that I can tell despite regulations and attack by the E.U." So far, the European Commission has likely communicated with the countries that are pursuing Apple and has probably expressed an opinion on the matter, he said. While no official complaints have been filed with the Commission, if one is, the result will have the makings of a historical battle. "This has the potential to be the next big high-profile dispute," Megregian said.
494086
France, the Netherlands, Finland and  Sweden are violating European Union law by favoring chips made  by Intel over rival AMD when they buy computers, the European  Commission said in formal charges filed on Wednesday.
151167
NEWSMAKER While a majority of European nations back a voluntary code of ethics that declares computer software as unworthy of patents, some still grant patents to software companies. Follow BetaNews' Scott Fulton as he untangles the European patent debate, with its lively characters and its strange twist on politics in which left-wing opponents are adopting right-wing tactics.
212822
Copyright add-on fails to find consensus A controversial new intellectual property right due to be created by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has been successfully opposed by a coalition of web activists and the technology industry.â¦
100173
European Union environment ministers rejected an appeal Monday to force Austria to lift a ban on two biotech crop products, which the European Commission says violates international trade rules.
87058
In Europe, industry leaders, government officials and others debate whether patents would hinder or cultivate innovation.
698690
Nokia Corp., the world's largest mobile phone maker, took legal action earlier this week against two European manufacturers for allegedly infringing on technology patents and registered designs.
205366
Against all expectations, the final vote on the European software patents directive was postponed this afternoon. The Polish Minister of Science and Information Technology, Wlodzimierz Marcinski, made a special
122473
Akzo Nobel, the Dutch maker of Crown paint, says it has made a bid approach for UK rival ICI, but that it was rejected.
236839
A top European Union judge  challenged the EU executive's reasoning in its antitrust court  battle with Microsoft Corp. Friday, questioning why it opposed  the U.S. software giant's setting industry standards.
7387
Microsoft&#39;s aggressive defense of its intellectual property, which includes claims that Linux violates a number of its patents, is nothing more than &quot;a marketing thing,&quot; according to Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel.
183528
Final legal whistle blown The House of Lords has rejected Neal Macrossan's application to appeal against a ruling that his software "invention" was not patentable in the UK.â¦
537504
The European Commission charged Wednesday (Oct. 13) that the governments of France, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden are favoring microprocessors from Intel when procuring PCs, thus violating European Union ...