The trouble with OpenBTS [LWN.net]

The trouble with OpenBTS

Posted Feb 25, 2009 14:37 UTC (Wed) by mjw (subscriber, #16740)
In reply to: The trouble with OpenBTS by rahulsundaram
Parent article: The trouble with OpenBTS

All software is potentially patent encumbered. I don't believe you can hold any hacker or distributor responsible for that fact (except if they are actively restricting their users rights through patent claims they hold themselves of course).

GNU/Linux distributors are producing and shipping Free Software. They have no influence on the patent restrictions some third party might wish to add to prevent users from exercising their basic free (copy)rights.

Sure, if there is active enforcement by a patent holder against you for distributing a specific piece of software then you might effectively be forced to stop any distribution of the code even if it is Free Software. But that also cannot be hold against you as distributor, you did try to distribute Free Software (given that the copyright licenses were all free).

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The trouble with OpenBTS

Posted Feb 25, 2009 15:18 UTC (Wed) by rahulsundaram (subscriber, #21946) [Link]

"Sure, if there is active enforcement by a patent holder against you for distributing a specific piece of software then you might effectively be forced to stop any distribution of the code even if it is Free Software. But that also cannot be hold against you as distributor"

Given that Red Hat and Novell is currently fighting a lawsuit for some patent infringement claims, I do think that distributions can be held liable by patent holders. In places where software patents are valid and enforced, the effect of patents are similar or actually worse than copyright restrictions.

The trouble with OpenBTS

Posted Feb 25, 2009 16:29 UTC (Wed) by mjw (subscriber, #16740) [Link]

Agreed completely. For a distribution based in a jurisdiction where someone actively tries to ban some freedoms through patent claims, or for a distribution backed by sponsors that are easy targets for evil patent trolls this is a very serious problem.

But you shouldn't hold that against such a distribution. They are just forced to not distribute some Free Software that others can and will happily distribute to their users. That doesn't make such a distribution less free. It just means they ship a different selection of free software out of necessity.