In an otherwise pro forma LinuxWorld keynote (well scripted standard messages: Linux started on the edge of the corporate network, Linux is now proving itself in more key areas, Linux is enterprise ready, these two customers have bet their businesses on Linux and are happy with the ROI, ROA, TCO), Martin Fink wandered off into an odd digression on software patents.
I think we all agree with his statements. We do live in a world where the USPTO exists, and software patents (regardless of one's opinions about their validity) are a reality, and everyone has the right to protect their inventions as they see fit. So what? In the open source world, developers have always supported the right of the developer to choose their license. His statement that patents are the only way to protect one's inventions is a little narrow. Patenting is one way. So is publication, because you want to actually protect your business not simply the invention. So instead of an odd digression, maybe he could have given the audience a real discussion on the HP intellectual property strategy. Let us know how HP chooses to patent somethings and publish others. Let us know the avenues for publication you use, or the costs involved. Give us a real picture. Of course as the #4 patent filer in this year's list, they might be one of those companies that simply patents everything. (Using a ball park fee of $15,000/patent filing for the legal fees, they only spent US$26.6M last year.)
Mr. Fink also used the opportunity to announce their release of code under the GPL for their part of the virtualization software in the Xen project. Bonus points to the reader for reading all the way to the end of the Xen page to read the credits: "Work on Xen has been supported by UK EPSRC grant GR/S01894, Intel Research, HP Labs and ..."
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