eWeek: Lawyers Weigh In on Linux Patent Threat

[ Thanks to Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols for this link. ]

"Open Source Risk Management (OSRM), a provider of open-source consulting and risk mitigation insurance, announced last week that it has found that there are 283 issued, but not yet court-validated, software patents that could conceivably be used in patent claims against Linux. In that same week, the German city of Munich temporarily put its planned Linux desktop migration on hold due to Linux patent concerns.

"Open Source Risk Management (OSRM), which will be offering a patent litigation insurance policy for Linux users and developers starting in 2005, has a clear business interest in the results of its study, but that doesn't mean that its research isn't right..."

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• NewsForge: Can the Open Source Community Beat Software Patenters?(Aug 12, 2004)
• LinuxDevCenter: Linux and Patent Risks(Aug 10, 2004)
• Editor's Note: Seeking Patent Fire in the OSRM Smoke(Aug 06, 2004)
• osViews: OSRM *IS* Free Enterprise(Aug 06, 2004)