Microsoft’s patent covenants cause confusion
,----[ Quote ]
| Then there is Oracle licensing agreement with the Open Invention Network,
| formed in 2005 to protect Linux from patent threats. By agreeing to a royalty
| free license to the OIN patents Oracle also agreed not to assert its patents
| against the Linux operating system.
|
| So if you can avoid suing anyone for patent infringement related to those 150
| standards, you’re safe from IBM, and if you’re using any form of Linux, you
| are safe from patent infringement claims made by Oracle.
|
| Now, that sounds like peace of mind.
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http://www.businessreviewonline.com/os/archives/2007/07/microsofts_pate.html
Linux Expert: Microsoft Is Throwing Money Away
,----[ Quote ]
| "If [Microsoft] found the knife, they'd use it -- but I don't think they
| found the knife," Bottomley says, referring to patent violations. He rattled
| off a few of the Linux community's defenses: "Patent law is supposed to
| protect people who wish to publish their ideas. I suspect these ideas were
| never published. Whoever invented [something] first is entitled to the
| patent -- it wouldn't be unlikely to be [the open source community], in which
| case the patent would be invalid."
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http://rcpmag.com/blogs/weblog.aspx?blog=1102
Courting a Jury
,----[ Quote ]
| For all of the hype these days over enormous jury verdicts -- including the
| record $1.5 billion judgement against Microsoft Corp. in March -- few juries
| ever decide a patent dispute. The huge stakes and the unpredictability of
| juries ensure that "most companies choke down some kind of a settlement or
| licensing deal," says veteran patent litigator Woody Jameson, a partner at
| Duane Morris in Atlanta. And, of course, the cost of just getting in front of
| a jury is staggering: a big patent trial now costs each side more than $4
| million to try.
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http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1184749586614
|
|
