ZDNet: Will Patents Pillage Open Source?

“Is open-source software just one patent away from
annihilation?

“Many people think so and point to the ominous convergence of
two trends: the widening availability of software patents and the
willingness of intellectual-property owners to challenge
distributors of open-source software. If someone can obtain a
patent to key features of the Linux kernel, couldn’t that person
bring the entire open-source community to its knees by threatening
industrywide legal action? At that point, shouldn’t CIOs flee open
source for the safety of Microsoft and Sun Microsystems?

“Not so fast…”

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