ASIDE from several discussions in Reddit and various comment threads (e.g. in LWN), everything that was said about the outcome of the lawsuit against the GNOME Foundation is already in Daily Links and also filed here (page updated as more material is published on this subject). We already wrote a number of articles about the issue several months ago, mostly condemning the legal strategy, led by the likes of IBM and OIN.

"While we're generally pleased that not even a dime was paid to the troll (only to the lawyers), we regret to see that low-quality/low-value patents prevail, as Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) inter partes reviews (IPRs) were not initiated."IBM is said to be preparing for another massive wave of layoffs and we're closely monitoring its patent policy/stance (with the new management at the helm... having been there for just over a month).

While we're generally pleased that not even a dime was paid to the troll (only to the lawyers), we regret to see that low-quality/low-value patents prevail, as Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) inter partes reviews (IPRs) were not initiated. The settlement might even contribute to the idea that the patent is legitimate and thus sort of "licensed" broadly (every OSI-approved-licensed project), perhaps adding to its perceived value. It's probably safe to assume that this troll will carry on picking on more targets, either behind the scenes or with lawsuits. We previously wrote -- several times in fact -- about this troll's indirect connection to Microsoft.

Techrights will continue working towards complete abolishment of software patents in the US (Alice/35 U.S.C. €§ 101 can help) and Europe/EPO (sadly lawless), as we generally recognise the infeasibility of dealing with software patents just one at a time. As usual, an RMS quote seems in order... ⬆

"Fighting patents one by one will never eliminate the danger of software patents, any more than swatting mosquitoes will eliminate malaria."

--Richard Stallman