Is the open-source community stealing ideas from commercial vendors?
IP Innovations seems to think so; the patent-holding company recently filed a lawsuit for patent infringement against Linux distributors Red Hat and Novell, claiming that Linux uses ideas originally developed at the Xerox PARC laboratory.
Open-source proponents say this a frivolous lawsuit from a company whose unsavory business model is to sue companies over IP (intellectual property) and patent issues.
Some previous high-profile cases include SCO Group versus IBM in 2003, and NTP versus Research In Motion in 2006 (a case that threatened to shut down the popular BlackBerry e-mail service and devices).
Some big tech companies are also claiming open-source apps and OSs have pilfered their technologies.
/zimages/1/28571.gifRead the full story on PCMag.com:Will Patent Battles End Free Linux?
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