The story kinda misses the point. Prior art is all very nice, but it can only shoot down IP claims one at a time. You claim "X", I show prior art, "X" goes away, you claim "Y"... You get the idea, until I can't find any prior art - then I'm in trouble.

I get my own IP.

You claim "X", I say "fine - what about Z?". You say: "oh drat, why don't we cross license our IP?" I say "Fine, we'll do that".

Just showing prior art, is fine - but if I can shoot your product out of the water too with my IP, then we'd better make a deal.

Of course, this doesn't help you with IP trolls, who never make any product - but that's a different story.

Now could Red Hat become a turncoat and use their IP against other companies? Yeah, they could. Is that likely? No, not right now (they're selling product). Of course, things change. However, what else is Red Hat to do? The real test is will they use their IP to help another Open Source Company? That's trickier to answer, and that's the acid test.

Remember that Red Hat is a pure-play Linux and Open Source company (unline Novell). If it really started using patents against any other open sourcers, it would lose all its contributors, mindshare and positive karma, and very soon all of its profitability. Remember SCO with its saber-rattling? Now in bancrupty.

Software patents are extremely evil, but I'm afraid that until they are abolished, any software company operating in the US feels compelled to apply for them, even if it doesn't want to.

... Shame nobody reads it before spreading FUD.

http://www.redhat.com/legal/patent_policy.html

In it, Red Hat licenses patents to all open source projects.

I wonder how long it will be before we get software patents in Europe :-(

It appears that FOSS may need to defend itself against patent attacks from litigious closed source companies (no names mentioned). Prior art isn't in itself a perfect defence, for a lot of reasons. The patent office will probably miss it when granting the patent, there is a legal presumption in favour of the patent holder, etc.

The way the big boys play this game is to hold an arsenal of patents that they can wave threateningly at each other if any of them gets a bit uppity. Having good lawyers also helps.

So the challenge is to invent some patent equivalent of an open-source licence. That is, some way of obtaining a patent that can be used to defend open-source by taking legal action against closed-source software that uses the idea.

Red Hat have got that far. But the key bit still missing is to ensure that all open-source software can still use the idea without EVER coming into conflict with the patent holder. I think this just needs the patent holder to issue a non-revocable licence for the use of the technology in open-source software.

Obviously the exact form of words is important, but i don't see this as very different to the way open-source software is itself licensed at present. Basically, if you adhere to the FOSS principles, you can incorporate open-source software into your own project and the licence you are granted to do this can't be revoked. Patents could work in exactly the same way. If you obey the rules, you get a free licence to use the patent that can't be revoked.

Of course, the patent-holder could still license the patent to closed-source companies, at a fee. Problem solved.

Software copyright I agree with - software writers must be able to copyright and stipulate usage rights for their programs. But, IP for individual components must be abolished and ought to be replaced with IC (Intellectual Credit).

Where IP bestows restrictions, IC would embody freedom. IC would give the "Yep, I created that" factor whilst allowing others the right to unwittingly re-create the same without fear of prosecution. IC would allow free usage and prevent IP trolls from stealing the fruits of another's mind.

In fact, I'm so taken with my idea of IC that I've just sent the suggestion to the OSI.

You posted at the same time as I was writing my email to the OSI re: IC. Were you perhaps reading my mind?

"with this: dun dun DUNNNN!! ®"

Imagine IT's a bell. Eeyore lost his tail right before his birthday. With some thoughtful proaction from the Owl, the unhappy donkey gets highly appreciated gift at proper time (-:

Many Duns and Das of 73.

"Imagine IT's a bell" -

Clearing: "a doorbell".