patents

Mark Shutteworth speaks out on Ballmer

Mark Shuttleworth has reacted to Steve Ballmer's goofy Linux commentary with considerable aplomb (and not the splenetic fervor I sometimes spew :-). Microsoft can't seem to get it out of its collective mind that open-source developers care about intellectual property (even if we don't always call it that) as much as proprietary developers do. We just opt to share it rather than to horde it.

Mark says:

Intellectual property is something the free software community takes very, very seriously. There is a perception that the free software is somehow riding on the coattails of the real industry or somehow avoids intellectual property laws.

The contrary is actually the case. Mark cites Firefox and Xen as two areas where Microsoft - and the proprietary world - has actually copied the open-source world.

Which leads to Mark's most interesting comment: Microsoft is a pirate that trades on others' IP to the tune of over $1 billion each year:… Read more

Vonage settles patent case with Sprint

Internet telephony provider Vonage said Monday that is has settled its patent dispute with Sprint Nextel.

The two companies have entered into a licensing arrangement that allows Vonage to use patents for voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, technology that are held by Sprint.

Vonage has agreed to pay Sprint a total of $80 million, according to the company. This includes $35 million for past use of the license, $40 million for a fully paid future license and $5 million in prepayment for services.

In September, a Kansas jury found that Vonage had infringed six Sprint patents. And it ordered … Read more

IBM seeks to patent...offshoring (???)

Oh, my. Sometimes the cheek of the proprietary world just becomes a tad too much. That's what I thought when I read this on CIO.com about IBM attempting to patent offshoring. You know, that practice that requires hefty innovation and a large investment of time and R&D dollars?

At times it's depressing to live in the United States when such buffoonery is commonplace.

Stephanie Overby at CIO.com writes:

Those new to the world of IT services might be taken aback by a vendor bold enough to propose that it had invented this unique process called "offshoring." Those familiar with IBM know it?s just another day at the office.… Read more

Speaking of Linux and the spirit of open source

It's almost shameful how paltry Novell's understanding of open source is. I don't say this to denigrate anyone personally, but when I read things like this from Groklaw I just can't understand how Novell manages to say "open source" with a straight face.

I'm all for using open source as a capitalist weapon. But this is the opposite of that. It's an attack on open source by a company that claims to espouse it. And it relies on deliberate falsehoods to propagate its still anemic success.

Pamela writes:

Justin Steinman reveals that to market their SUSE Linux Enterprise Server against Red Hat they ask, "Do you want the Linux that works with Windows? Or the one that doesn't?" It's just appalling. Let me ask you developers who are kernel guys a question: When you contributed code to the kernel, was it your intent that it be used against Red Hat?… Read more

How much is Microsoft's patent protection worth?

I was reading Dave Rosenberg's commentary on Novell's patent deal with Microsoft and got to thinking about how much "protection" there actually is in the relationship. Novell has been selling this protection hard to its Suse prospects ("Linux is scary because Microsoft might sue. But we have a deal with Microsoft..."). Extortion? Sure. But for some it seems that integrity has a price.

For those who can't be bought, just how much protection are you missing? Not very much, it seems to me, and to a range of open-source legal experts I e-mailed to solicit their opinions.

I asked them to weigh in on the matter. Here's what I heard.… Read more

Vonage loses appeal in Verizon patent case

After months of battle, Vonage has lost the bulk of its appeal in the Verizon Communications patent infringement case.

In March, a jury in Virginia found that Vonage had infringed on three patents held by Verizon. And it awarded Verizon $58 million in damages along with future damages of 5.5 percent on the revenue that Vonage was making during the appeal process.

The judge in the case imposed an injunction on Vonage that would force the company to stop delivering a service using technology that infringes on Verizon's patents. But because Vonage has been appealing the case, the … Read more

Vonage ordered to pay Sprint $69.5 million in patent case

Internet telephony player Vonage was dealt another serious legal blow Tuesday when a federal jury found the company had infringed on six patents held by Sprint Nextel.

The jury ordered Vonage to pay Sprint $69.5 million in damages.

Sprint sued Vonage in 2005, claiming the company was infringing on seven Sprint patents that dealt with connecting Internet phone calls. Vonage denied the claims and argued that Sprint's patents shouldn't have been approved in the first place.

Vonage said in a statement that it will appeal the federal court's verdict. Vonage also said it will develop technological … Read more

Supreme Court to hear LG patent case

The Supreme Court said Tuesday that it will consider a patent case between LG Electronics and a group of Taiwanese companies, including Quanta Computer, according to Reuters.

The case could have far-reaching implications on the computer industry because it would determine whether patent holders can receive royalties from various companies as the product moves its way through the manufacturing chain.

LG claimed that the companies infringed on its patents on microprocessor chips in its computers. But Quanta and the other Taiwanese companies said LG licensed its technology to Intel, which made microprocessor chips that it sold to the companies.

The … Read more

Open Season on open source, part 2

I'm loving doing this podcast series with The Register's Ashlee Vance and MuleSource's Dave Rosenberg. We dubbed it "Open Season," and often with good reason. In this last installment, we talked about a range of open source topics, including:

Patent protection and open source, focusing on Novell's Moonlight project Ubuntu's mini server OS for VMware The 'Calista Flockhart' hypervisor from VMware Net App sues Sun and Fishworks BEA disses open source InfoWorld's Best of Open Source list Developers and salespeople learning how to do open source Good documentation equals dollars Other topics.... … Read more

NTP, the sequel

The famous quote "there are no second acts in American lives" is attributed to F. Scott Fitzgerald. According to BrainyQuote.com, he also said, "his was a great sin who first invented consciousness. Let us lose it for a few hours."

The convoluted story of NTP and evolution of the American patent system is enough to drive a man to drink. Having beaten the literary metaphors well into the ground, let's ponder NTP's second act on the tech industry stage.

As you may have heard, NTP is once again feeling litigious. Last week it … Read more