Google Ordered To Pay $5 Million in Linux Suit
Google has violated a Linux-related patent and has to pay Bedrock Technologies $5 million in damages.
There was no information whether an injunction against Google will also be enforced. However, the plain payment isn’t so much the issue here: It is the implication on the entire Linux ecosystem U.S. Patent No. 5,893,120 may have, as it has been confirm as a valid patent by a court of law.
The patent is described as "methods and apparatus for information storage and retrieval using a hashing technique with external chaining and on-the-fly removal of expired data" and appears to be relating especially to large Linux server installations. Google may only be the beginning and Bedrock could be in a very strong position to collect royalties across the industry. Foss Patents speculates that companies such as Red Hat may be in a dilemma here and in yet another situation where license payments need to be made.
It is unclear how the average user or developer may be affected. Google's Android, conceivably the most popular form of Linux in the market today, could be affected - as well as applications that touch Bedrock's patent. Foss Patents notes that Google may not only have to change the code in the software running its own server farms, but possibly also infringing code in Android. Overall, the outcome of this patent suit as well as Google's reaction should shed some light on future legal battles Google will have to fight in order to defend its Android platform. According to Foss patents, there are currently 41 Android-related patent suits pending.
Oh well, I doubt it will have any significant impact on us Android users.
It isn't for Google, but what about the smaller companies that rely on Linux to power their servers? These guys might just go after everyone and that will hurt anyone who relies on Linuxs Open Source nature to survive.
Simpsons did it in episode #1039483 "Bart takes a crap on broken patent system"
It is, for the most part, but when a company is making money off of the code you developed then it's kinda not, right?
so.....
Completely two different licenses here. BSD is a "go ahead and use it if you can no matter who you are" license by choice. GPL on the other hand is a restrictive license that says "hey, you can use my code only if you agree on my terms and principals". Apple used the BSD code EXACTLY LIKE IT WAS LICENSED FOR. The original code is and always shall be free for anyone to use and modifications are left up to the modifier to decide if they wish to contribute back.
Android is supposed to be free, and google does not get money for the OS.
So in that case, the company putting the lawsuit will have to give all the cash they get to the Linux community, or else they get sued for making money on a Linux OS too!
It is. This company thinks that they have claim to some ideas/concepts within the code used in the Linux kernel. Neither the Free Software Foundation nor The Linux Foundation are suing Google here (and the FSF certainly would if there was even a hint of GPL violation).
USA... land and home of the lawsuits.
The patent system is definitely broken, and at what point do we draw the line. An algorithm is an algorithm, and different individuals could very conceivably arrive at the same logical solution to a problem (Leibniz and Newton come to mind). It seems unrealistic to award ownership of an idea to whomever registered it, and then say that anyone else with the same idea now owes you money.
Deanjo, the GPL is only "restrictive" in that it requires that the code and ALL derivative works remain open and FREE! Free dude. Software patents and software licenses are two different issues anyway.
Can you imagine how many billions if not trillions would be saved if all American companies didn't have to deal with stupid crap like this? Maybe Microsoft's Crusade against Linux would be blunted. They pushed the SCO thing, there was talk that they said they had 50 such lawsuits waiting in the wings.
Innovate, not litigate!
we can't patent mathematical formulae; and
yet we can patent software algorithms ?
this does not make sense.
ELIMINATE SOFTWARE PATENTS IMMEDIATELY (RETROACTIVELY !) !!!!