This (slightly prolonged) week was very interesting in the Software Patents department – apart from new happenings in the Lodsys and Nortel cases, there are more and more cries about (software) patent abolition being needed (even from less likely places).
Amongst other articles, I would recommend reading Georg Greve's post on the "cloud" (Free Software Business) and Laurel Russwurm's tale (Other interesting links).
Again, I would like to thank Natalia Evdokimova for her help with preparing the links.
Free Software Licensing¶
OSOR: CH: Proprietary competitors delay unwrapping of open source DMS
The Inquirer: Canonical offers Ubuntu cloud support licences
The Inquirer: Microsoft splashes $100m on Suse with a four year pact
OSOR published a compatibility matrix for the EUPL license. Still not all agree with it.
Free Software Business¶
Mozilla starts development of a mobile OS. Also Mozilla calls for enterprises to cooperate in its recently (re)established Mozilla Enterprise User Working Group
- ArsTechnica: Mozilla eyes mobile OS landscape with new Boot to Gecko project
- The Inquirer: Mozilla is developing a mobile operating system
- H-online: Mozilla's next Firefox moment?
- The Mozilla Blog: Announcing Mozilla Enterprise User Working Group
A brilliant (also in its shortness) post about how to have a Free as in Freedom "Cloud".
The Inquirer: Linux based Openstack will challenge VMware
Armed and Dangerous: The Smartphone Wars: Expectation and Surprise
Software Patents¶
National Public Radio, Planet Money: When Patents Attack
Visae Patentes: BGH X ZR 121/09 Confirms New German Approach To Examination of Software Inventions
LexisNexis: Patent-lawsuit offensive can be patently offensive
Julian Sanchez’s blog: Good Defensive Patents Are Bad Patents
Computer World UK, Glyn Moody’s blog: Why We Should – and Can – Abolish All Patents
Groklaw (as always) continues its great coverage on the Nortel patent case. Interestingly though, Google seems to buy patents for protection nonetheless. Carlo Piana uses that case to show a more broader picture of what is wrong with patents in general and how they are used.
- Carlo Piana’s blog: Nortel, Google and the value of patents
- Groklaw: We Can Stop Wondering Now
- Cnet: Report: Nortel portfolio buyers facing DOJ scrutiny
- Techcrunch: Google On The Nortel Loss, Patents As Government-Granted Monopolies, And Plates Of Spaghetti
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The Register: Google gobbles Big Blue IP stash. Patents: Both sword and shield in corporate combat
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Bloomberg: Google General Counsel Says Patents Are ‘Gumming Up’ Smartphone Innovation
- The Inquirer: Patents are stifling innovation, says Google
- Bloomberg: Google Buys Inventions From IBM as It Aims to Build Patent Hoard
Forbes: The Supreme Court Should Invalidate Software Patents
Forbes: Software Patents and Judicial Activism
Groklaw offers more background on Lodsys case.
- Groklaw: Lodsys – Piling It On, A Possible Reason
- Groklaw: Lodsys – Piling It On, But To What Purpose
Cnet news: Hulu accused of infringing on program guide patents
TechCrunch: Patent Troll Sues Amazon Over Electronic Checkout Service
Forbes, Timothy B. Lee: The Supreme Court Should Invalidate Software Patents
ArsTechnica: MPEG LA: 12 companies own patents essential to Google's VP8 codec
Government and Free Software Policies¶
OSOR: AT: Department of Justice's migration to OpenOffice a success story
The Inquirer: A cartel of IT vendors supply the UK Government with £3,500 PCs
OSOR: RO: Free software backers fear EU funds proprietary e-learning project
Associated Press of Pakistan: Project underway to achieve practical software engineering goals
OSOR: IT: Puglia region council to approve open source and standards law
Copyright and Other Legal Act Reforms¶
Torrentfreak: It Was Never About The Money, Stupid
La Quadrature Du Net: European Parliament Study Confirms ACTA Must Be Rejected
TorrentFreak: Could Quantum Computing Kill Copyright?
TechDirt: Can Innovation Through Business 'Solve' Issues That Legal Repression Can't?
Michael Geist: Canada – EU Trade Deal Pushing Toward New Canadian Copyright Enforcement Bill
TechDirt: Now That Sierra Leone Has Its Own Draconian Copyright Law, It Too Can Create Its Own Akon
Other interesting links¶
A sad tale of how it is normal that even someone who has substantially contributed to the work, cannot access it.
ComputerWorldUK, Glyn Moody’s blog: Time to Break up Big, Bad Apple?
BBC: The open internet and its enemies
Placr News: The growth case for open data
OSOR: 'Procurement by ten European central Banks is hindering competition'
H-online: The FOSS fakery problem
ComputerWorldUK, Simon Phipps’s blog: The Open Cloud Initiative
Visionmobile: A new way of measuring Openness, from Android to WebKit: The Open Governance Index
InfoJustice.org: CCIA: Fair Use Makes Valuable Contribution to US Economy
TechDirt: New Study: Piracy Increases The Quality Of Content
IT World: FLOSS: Accept no substitutes
VLC and unwelcome redistributors
The Guardian: Government wasting public money on overpriced IT projects – MPs
hook out → first new (home) office, soon a new proper dress for hookie :]