Patent infringement suit against Redhat and Novell

[Mitch Wiedemann <]

October 9, just shortly after another round of saber rattling from MS
CEO Steve "monkeyboy" Ballmer, a small patent troll company called "IP
Innovation" has filed suit against Redhat and Novell for alleged patent
infringement related to using multiple desktops within a user interface.

True to form, Groklaw is all over the case. "PJ" and some of her
research wonks have already determined the links between "IP Innovation"
and Microsoft.
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071011205044141

The prediction is that this will be the first in a long line of
"mini-SCO" cases, which will likely (hopefully) end the same way that
SCO has done. "Prior Art" has already been established, so it'll just be
a matter of making Redhat and Novell pay some lawyers...

Until the US patent system gets wise and throws out patents on software
ideas, a lot of lawyers are going to make a lot of money, and real
software innovation will be stifled.

For those who aren't aware of the dangers of software patents, have a
look at this article, which contains a quote from Bill Gates in 1991:

"If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of
today's ideas were invented and had taken out patents, the industry
would be at a complete standstill today." Bill Gates (1991)

http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/en/m/dangers/index.html

-- 
Mitch Wiedemann
Ithaca Free Software Association http://ithacafreesoftware.org 
Free Software Foundation Member #3167 http://www.fsf.org