THE PATENT LINE
THE PATENT LINE
Many have begun to wonder whether the dark predictions regarding Linux patent infringement reflect a real danger, or whether the patent doomsday talk is intended primarily as a means for raising public awareness. The answer is that no one knows for sure – and the reason no one knows is perhaps the most unsettling part of the story. It was announced recently that Linux may infringe on as many as 283 patents. If you followed the story, you’ll recall that few details emerged as to which parts of Linux infringe on which patents. The reason for this lack of information is that, strangely, the more you know about patents, the more they can hurt you. US patent law imposes harsher penalties on those who violate patents knowingly than on those who violate without specific knowledge of the infringement. In other words, if you use or distribute Linux, you’d better avoid any specific knowledge of specific patent violations.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
News
-
Trojan Turns Raspberry Pi into a Cryptocurrency Mining Device
Two trojans in the wild are targeting Linux machines.
-
Fedora 26 Beta Comes with New Features
The workstation comes with the latest Gnome desktop environment and support for many application build systems.
-
Raspberry Pi Foundation Merges with CoderDojo Foundation
The two foundations join forces to expand their efforts to reach young people.
-
Samba Security Hole Patched but Risk is Bigger
Millions of devices that use Samba Server are vulnerable to attacks.
-
Red Hat Announces OpenShift.io
Red Hat takes its IDE online.
-
Microsoft Bakes Linux into Windows Server
Microsoft is slowly becoming a Linux vendor.
-
Fearless Coyote, Linux Kernel 4.11 is Out
The new kernel makes swap implementation more scalable, which will help cloud providers.
-
Docker Appoints Steve Singh CEO
The new CEO comes from a very strong SaaS background.
-
Docker Announces Linux Kit and Moby Project
Both projects help organizations build their own containerized systems.
-
Ubuntu Returns to Gnome as Its Mobile Plans Shatter
Mark Shuttleworth has resumed the position of CEO of Canonical.