Apple’s patent attack

“Software patents have long been the source of a great deal of
concern in the free software community; patents are by far the
biggest restraint on our ability to program our own computers.
Those who worry about these things have expected that attacks might
come from patent trolls, or from software companies with fading
prospects. Apple’s lawsuit against HTC shows that the real threat
may come from a different direction.

“HTC is not normally thought of as a Linux company; it is a
Taiwanese manufacturer which provides cellular phone handsets to a
number of other companies. HTC has only recently begun promoting
phones under its own name; as it happens, a number of those run
Android. Since Android increasingly looks like the base for some of
the strongest competition against Apple’s products, this suit
certainly has the look of an attack against Android and not just an
action against one hardware manufacturer. Indeed, Android is named
specifically in both components to the attack.

“There are some 20 patents named in Apple’s actions. Ten of them
are named in the patent infringement suit filed in Delaware:”

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