“A tricky situation has arisen over a Linux patent (US:
5,995,745) obtained by Victor Yodaiken of Real-Time Linux. Although
he intends that users of RTLinux, as well as Linux users who label
their application as being compatible with RTLinux and who release
them under GPL will not have to pay royalties, it is a narrow path
that he is walking.”
“…there have been thousands of other papers on the
subject, and hundreds of patents, all of which appear to add up to
the inevitable conclusion that the patent was not examined properly
by the highly inadequate US patent office.
It seems rather unlikely that in all this work there is no other
mention of what Yodaiken claims to be his invention: preemption in
a general purpose operating system for real-time tasks – and after
all, even VMS did this. The wider issue of software patents
generally, and defensive patents for the Linux community, needs
much more attention. The only solution would appear to be some
legislation to require a pubic comment period when prior art could
be submitted, or comments made about the novelty. This would go a
long way to removing the need for expensive legal procedures to
strike down patents that should not have been issued.”