It’s a coincidence that last month’s “On the Docket” discussed the dangers of software patents just as a troubling headline appeared: according to an exhaustive study by the Public Patent Foundation (http://www.pubpat.org), the Linux kernel infringes 283 patents.
It’s a coincidence that last month’s “On the Docket” discussed the dangers of software patents just as a troubling headline appeared: according to an exhaustive study by the Public Patent Foundation (http://www.pubpat.org), the Linux kernel infringes 283 patents.
Although that news seems dire, having this information in hand is a good thing for at least two reasons. It raises awareness of the dangers that software patents pose to free software, and it quantifies the intellectual property risk associated with the Linux kernel, so that companies like Open Source Risk Management (OSRM, http://www.osriskmanagement.com) can offer risk insurance to organizations that want to deploy Linux (for more on OSRM, see August 2004’s “On the Docket”). Although OSRM’s insurance isn’t a product designed for individuals at $30,000 or more annually, the insurance does permit large organizations to make plans based on known risks, yielding a fixed insurance premium rather than unknown litigation expenses. In years past, Linux risks have gone unmeasured, while commercial software companies have been able to provide comforting assurances.
For example, if someone sues a user of a Microsoft product for patent infringement, Microsoft will likely come to the user’s aid during litigation to prevent the devaluation of Microsoft’s products. Microsoft’s cost of defending itself is built into the price of their commercial software. However, up until now, Linux vendors haven’t been in a position to vigorously defend their products, although Red Hat has promised to rework their software to avoid patent infringement, if necessary….
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