Source code doesn't infringe

Posted Jul 11, 2011 16:33 UTC (Mon) by corbet (editor, #1)
In reply to: Source code doesn't infringe by cortana
Parent article: Debian's patent policy FAQ

We'd just see more of what we're already seeing - trolls will go after the users, not the developers. Microsoft isn't (as far as I know) shaking down Google, it's shaking down handset vendors who put Android on their devices.

Source code doesn't infringe

Posted Jul 11, 2011 16:48 UTC (Mon) by tdwebste (guest, #18154) [Link]

Trolls are going after commercial users. This is a small but important distinction. Commercial users make attractive targets because they can pass on patent royalty cost in the commercial product cost. Individual end users are too costly to litigate.

Source code doesn't infringe

Posted Jul 11, 2011 18:41 UTC (Mon) by Hausvib6 (guest, #70606) [Link] (2 responses)

The trolls and the gorillas will go after cashcows. It is unlikely for them to start hunting down FOSS communities even if those communities are actively developing patent-infringing softwares. They'll go after the users, which coincidentally for most of the time are the sponsor of the project. Unless the sponsor is a bear, it won't go down as easily as cashcows.

I really want to see the fight between the gorillas and the bears over patents.

Source code doesn't infringe

Posted Jul 11, 2011 20:43 UTC (Mon) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link] (1 responses)

They'll go after you if your product competes with theirs, just to shut you down.

Source code doesn't infringe

Posted Jul 13, 2011 2:54 UTC (Wed) by Hausvib6 (guest, #70606) [Link]

Ah yes, they will, forgot that one.

So we'll have a great future where being innovative independent little start-up is a curse.