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Open-source allies go on patent offensive |
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Source: CNET News - Posted by Pax Dickinson
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Two Linux allies are taking a leaf out of their opponents' book as they try to prevent software patents from putting a crimp in open source.
Red Hat will finance outside programmers' efforts to obtain patents that may be used freely by open-source developers, the top Linux seller said Tuesday at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo here. At the same time, the Open Source Developer Labs launched a patent commons project, which will provide a central list of patents that have been donated to the collaborative programming community.
The threat of patent-infringement lawsuits has long dogged collaborative development, leading some open-source programming advocates to turn against the patent system altogether. The initiatives signal a new willingness on the part of the open-source community to combat the threat of patent-infringement lawsuits more directly--and within the existing patent system.
"We're watching a groundswell of alternative ideas coming forward to try to counteract some of the patent terrorism that's coming up in industry," Steve Mills, general manager of IBM's software group, said in an interview.
Read this full article at CNET News
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