The Open Invention Network (OIN) has revealed Dropbox is its latest licensee, potentially shielding the cloud document-sharing service from patent attackers.
OIN owns an artillery of patents covering Linux which it makes available to members and licensees on a royalty-free basis.
Licensees are then sheltered from lawsuits by those people might bring over the patents.
Keith Bergelt, OIN chief executive, told The Register: “These are the kinds of companies we are spending more time with – growth companies, strong, venture-backed companies going public or who are in a position where they could go public in the next two to three years.”