[ Thanks to Chao-Kuei
Hung for this link. ]
“Previously I published a first set of thoughts on the
Defensive Patent License (DPL), which is currently being developed
by two law professors at UC Berkeley. The more I think about that
initiative, the more interesting it looks to me, even though its
exact content isn’t known yet and its future adoption remains to be
seen.“Meanwhile I’ve had some discussions and obtained more
information, and there may actually be a solution to the only
fundamental concern I had, which was that the DPL might not be
effective as a purely defensive mechanism.“But no matter how defensive the DPL may be at first sight, it
could pave the way for a whole new business model: that of the Fair
Troll (which I’ll explain in this post). That approach might be
able to provide what I considered to be the missing link. It could
enable the DPL to attract a very broadbased following, providing
many companies and persons throughout and beyond the FOSS community
with economic incentives and the opportunity to contribute to a
good cause at the same time.”