Google shields open source cloud tech from patent trolls

Even further legitimatising...

...the broken patent system. They're all buggers.

'shields'? Don't think so.

No - this is a non assert pledge. It shields only from Google, subject to defining a locus to act and Google being 'reasonable' if acts inconsistently with the pledge, and anyone to whom Google may sell or assign rights.

There is nothing I can see in the pledge to use these patents to countersue someone attacking a developer, open source or otherwise, with their own patents. Indeed if the protagonist also was using these in open source Google might be restricted from defending the developer by this pledge . The termination of the license applies to people suing Google as opposed to say the IBM equivalent which terminates if you sue any open source software and does not appear to terminate if you sue IBM .

Overall the non assert pledge is very good - although I'd like some elements cleaned up and its discriminatory - it only applies to open source rather than say use by implementers of standards more generally and issues like 'special purpose hardware' need definition. It has a few loop holes and control points too (like use of the words 'promise' and country of jurisdiction) as above.

It is not a defensive patent pool like the Open Innovation network that protects Linux.