Patents?

Patents?

Posted Sep 28, 2007 5:15 UTC (Fri) by JesseW (subscriber, #41816)
Parent article: Run Linux apps on other platforms with LINA

The FAQ also includes nonsense about patents. It says:

Q: Do you have any patents on LINA technologies?
A: We have several patents pending on LINA. In accordance with the GPL, Open Source users of LINA will be able to use LINA without obtaining a patent license.

This is nonsense. If a patent covers something, you need a patent license in order to use it. In fact, the GPL requires that certain patent licenses be granted, and lays out when and to whom. I presume LINA meant that they won't demand royalties for their patents, but that's not what they said.

All in all, it looks like the LINA folks have a very bad grasp of both the legal and technical aspects of their business. Not a good sign. I'm surprised Forrest Cook gave them such a positive writeup.

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