Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> 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 licence 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.
> `----
>
> 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 defences: "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."
> `----
>
> 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.
> `----
>
> http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1184749586614
That's interesting - maybe the US/Canada/Mexico/Australia software
patents groups will price themselves out of the market anyway?
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
| Cola faq: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/linux/advocacy/faq-and-primer/ |
| Cola trolls: http://colatrolls.blogspot.com/ |
| My (new) blog: http://www.thereisnomagic.org |
|
|
