Open-source group wants educational patent reversed
547839
The Software Freedom Law Center says the "junk patent" threatens open-source projects. The holder says it's willing to deal--but the group asks too much.
414867
Open Source Development Labs calls for explanation of how to mix code governed by current and next GPL.
212911
Peer-to-peer company accuses RIAA and its partners of infringing upon its patents.
736961
The case has outraged some opponents of software patents, who claim it is a textbook example of why software should not be patentable.
205121
No one is forcing anyone to put their work into the public commons. But, once you do, you need to accept that you no longer can wholly control how it is used. The open-source software world understands this to its benefit.
268969
IP lawyers find support for IP laws Businesses and academics would oppose any watering down of the patent examination process, a new report has found.â¦
734727
(InfoWorld) - A patent-infringementÂ lawsuitÂ filed by Network Appliance against Sun Microsystems on Wednesday could escalate beyond the storage arena to become this decade's major test case for open-source software, according to storage analysts. NetApp contends that Sun's ZFS file-system technology, which wasÂ donatedÂ to the OpenSolaris.org open-source community earlier this year, infringes on seven NetApp patents. Andrew Reichman, an analyst at Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research, said that NetApp's effort to stop Sun from developing or distributing the file-system technology could catapult the sticky issue of open-source software ownership squarely onto the public stage. "This will be a banner case to test the viability of open-source storage software, which Sun has been touting for some time," said Reichman. Sun, he added, "is too committed to the idea of providing storage technology to users without charge via the open-source community" -- a process that "the likes of NetApp and EMC are very hostile to." The other companies, he noted, fear that open-source storage technology would cut them off from significant sources of revenue. "I think [the legal scuffle] will drag on for a long time and likely become the major test case for open-source software this decade," he said. Reichman also noted that NetApp may have difficulty convincing a judge to force Sun to pay for using the patents, given what he called Sun's convoluted revenue stream from a system that provides users with some intellectual property without charge. Mike Karp, an analyst at Enterprise Management Associates in Boulder, Colo., said that issues being raised by NetApp over ZFS in many ways mirrors theÂ legal battleÂ between Novell and The SCO Group over Unix ownership. "This is not the sort of thing that is likely to be resolved overnight. My guess is that this is going to be a very expensive suit for both sides to prosecute," said Karp. "Neither side can afford to lose this thing." Given what he calls a fragmented approach by Sun toward its StorageTek technology and reseller relationships, Reichman said he perceives ZFS as the company's "make or break" storage technology. Whether by design or not, NetApp's lawsuit will likely distract Sun's fledgling storage effort, he added. "[Sun] already has significant challenges in productizing ZFS-based storage offerings and emerging as a force in storage, and [the lawsuit] will only compound that," Reichman remarked. Computerworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.
429727
Blackboard, whose software manages university courses, pledges not to use patents against open-source alternatives.
364233
A campaign to raise awareness about software patents has found strong opposition to their introduction in the United Kingdom.
605833
Two prominent open-source software groups have rejected a proposed technology standard backed by Microsoft Corp. that would close a loophole used to send unsolicited commercial
41834
Experts tell lawmakers the broken patent system chills innovation and feeds lawyers and trolls. Will something finally be done? Luke O'Brien reports from Washington.
482746
The three most famous European authors of open-source software today issued an appeal against software patents in Europe. Linux author Linus Torvalds, MySQL author Michael Windenius and
580866
Plans to provide umbrella from patent-infringement suits to outsiders using or developing the OS--a move to counter Linux.
230851
They are asking the European Union Council to reject this proposal. They claim that software patent directive would be harmful to the European economy.
592987
A group of open-source software pioneers, led by Linux developer Linus Torvalds, has issued an appeal to the EU Council to block the legalization of software patents.
393456
Ziff Davis - The Public Patent Foundation and others have serious questions about what Sun's new open-source patent policies will actually mean for developers.
570358
Industry groups are looking for a way around controversial copyright proposal.