I believe we are at a crossroad now, particularly amid the economic collapse. The patent system too is almost imploding and patent literature online is clearly worried. To push the system over the cliff at these fragile times should not be as hard as you imagine. Just watch how EPO _STAFF_ took it to the streets against their own employers, accusing them — essentially — of corruption.

Another advantage of doing that is that they can more easily protect themselves and/or FLOSS itself from patent (or other) attacks from proprietary software companies. Granted, this will not help defend against patent troll companies, but it’s still a lot better than nothing.

Patent trolls are also not the most dangerous sources of patent attacks, they usually only demand a small amount of cash (well, small for a company to pay) – the idea is that they want an out-of-court settlement because they know that if it goes to court, they stand a good chance of losing. By demanding less than what it’d cost a company to defend themselves in a court battle, they hope that their target will simply pay it. “Easy money”.

Patent trolls are the most annoying, but they are unlikely to ever be able destroy any company.

(I do agree with you, though, that patent trolling should be illegal and are a clear indication that the current patent system is broken).

Don’t fight fire with fire. Or fight a bonfire with a matchstick.. and a teaspoon.

Wow, it’s been a while since anyone has tried to paint Novell as the party of advantage in their MS deal. My question is, if Novell’s patent portfolio is so great, how come there is no ongoing royalty from MS to Novell, as their certainly is on open source software shipped under the agreement by Novell?

This quote just shows Shane’s ignorance. The massive quantities of money going from Microsoft to Novell is precisely because Microsoft is paying royalties to Novell. This fact is well documented for those willing to research.

1. it won’t be used for anything other than defensive purposes
2. he actively combats software patents

Obtaining patents is not a sign that he is pro-Software Patents, it is simply a smart thing to do.

Better that a responsible Free Software developer like Michael Meeks apply for the patent than someone who would be likely to use it for offensive purposes.

Bah.