KSM runs into patent trouble [LWN.net]

KSM runs into patent trouble

Posted Dec 3, 2008 20:05 UTC (Wed) by jordanb (subscriber, #45668)
Parent article: KSM runs into patent trouble

I think Mr. Monakhov would do well to quit looking at patent applications.

Without the publicity he's created this may never have become an issue. Certainly if you wanted to render just about any software unusable you could do so by researching all the potential patent conflicts and bring them to the attention of the programmers, forcing them to neuter their software to avoid "willful infringement."

As far as I'm concerned VMWare is the biggest pile of scumballs this side of NVIDIA so I have no doubt that they'll use this to maximize their own benefit. The biggest issue here (beyond the fact that the patent system is broken) is that well intentioned people should *not* be researching and advertising potential patent conflicts. Let the patent holders do their own homework, for Christ's sake!

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KSM runs into patent trouble

Posted Dec 3, 2008 22:57 UTC (Wed) by tialaramex (subscriber, #21167) [Link]

As a special case it's worth doing the research if you have some confidence you'll find nothing, and if you expect "We looked and found nothing" to be a major "selling point" for your software. See GNU zip (gzip) IIRC.

KSM runs into patent trouble

Posted Dec 3, 2008 23:02 UTC (Wed) by mlankhorst (subscriber, #52260) [Link]

Sadly this is true, when I worked at a software company the first thing
they said was: Don't look at patents. If you however still believe that
you infringe on one, only contact a lawyer, because the client attorney
conversations are confidential. Looking for software patents is just
asking for troubles. It's better to stay completely ignorant.

To the best of my knowledge, my current debian system infringes on zero
patents. :) .. and I'm not even going to look for anything that might
possibly infringe ..

KSM runs into patent trouble

Posted Dec 3, 2008 23:22 UTC (Wed) by drag (subscriber, #31333) [Link]

Plus if you have a record of going around and looking for patents then you could be shooting yourself in the foot.

Willful violation of patents, if proven, triples the damages awarded to the patent holder. It's much better to ignore patents and accidentally violate them then be a position were the judge can be convinced that you probably knew about the patent.

KSM runs into patent trouble

Posted Dec 4, 2008 0:46 UTC (Thu) by kev009 (subscriber, #43906) [Link]

If you are in the business of Linux like Redhat, then letting this get into the kernel with your name on it is a bad idea to begin with. For the hackers out there doing things on their own, I'm inclined to agree but it would be downright stupid for a business not to perform some CYA (Check Your Ass) - especially if they are considering providing patent indemnification.

KSM runs into patent trouble

Posted Dec 4, 2008 4:26 UTC (Thu) by drag (subscriber, #31333) [Link]

Well the deal with software patents is that you _can't_ check your ass.

It would require having a team of people who are experts in patent law and programming following all your developers around and checking on projects your using in order to try to link against patents.

Even then your not going to avoid lawsuits from patent trolls.

Since there is no practical defense against patents then there isn't much you can do. Sure if your notified, like in this case, then you are forced to act, but it's definitely not something you want to volunteer for, especially when your in business. No benefit for you, all pain, no profits.

Patents and LWN

Posted Dec 4, 2008 2:16 UTC (Thu) by corbet (editor, #1) [Link]

Hey, man, didn't you see the embargo date on the press release? We weren't going to announce that until next week!

Patents and LWN

Posted Dec 4, 2008 16:17 UTC (Thu) by felixfix (subscriber, #242) [Link]

That's ok; this is subscriber-only content until then anyway, right?