Google Linux servers hit with $5m patent infringement verdict (The Register)

The Register is reporting that Google (and Linux) has been found to infringe on a patent on open hashing with automatic expiration—not the most innovative idea ever, even in 1997 when the patent was filed. The damages, $5M, seem rather small in comparison to some that we have seen coming out of east Texas. "Asked to comment, a Google spokeswoman said: 'Google will continue to defend against attacks like this one on the open source community. The recent explosion in patent litigation is turning the world's information highway into a toll road, forcing companies to spend millions and millions of dollars defending old, questionable patent claims, and wasting resources that would be much better spent investing in new technologies for users and creating jobs.'"

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