News Google pledges to use patents defensively

This could be great if done properly...

 

Sounds like a recipe for disaster, As long as your work stays open source they wont sue you but if you ever want to go closed they can sue the crap outta you.

To me it sounds like there happy to see people use there search bits and bobs as it will be good for them but if they want to go closed source and edit the code then there could be problems.

 

The portfolio of patents that's actually involved in this is so minute that I don't think it can be anything other than a publicity stunt.

 

rollo sorry but that's simply not true


creative labs had the open project of OpenAL - they then closed it.


and whilst older versions can be developed on the open source license , the latest stuff requires a fee paying and no one sued them

 

I'm pretty sure this could be used in this manner:

You create something open source that is incredible, using IP owned by Google.

So, from there if Google then decide to take your open source project, make it private and continue to develop it themselves into something profitable or not. You pretty much have to bend over and take it?

...They could even tell you to stop developing it any further, or risk getting sued?

I'm jumping the gun here, but I assume this is how it would go if they wanted it to?

 

I think the difference here is there's not really enough competition or ambition to fight such a thing - it's not nearly as hard to make a new audio library than say, a graphics library. Put a fee on a relatively unpopular product that used to be open source and nobody will care enough to use it. Suing Creative for OpenAL is kinda like mugging a child - you might get something out of it but the effort is overall a waste of time and it just makes you look like an ass.

I'm sure Google's decision on not suing open source projects is for a few reasons. One, there's probably not much profit in it. Google will ditch their own products, regardless of how popular they are, if they don't make enough profit (or, they'll litter it with ads). Google also does a lot of open source activity themselves, so suing open source projects would seem hypocritical. They are legally allowed to use the source code of other open source developers (for their own open source projects) and not be obligated to pay them, which in turn becomes a profit for them. And lastly, they might do it for a political reason by seeming like the "good guys" compared to Apple who will file lawsuits just because you exist.

The reason behind making something open source or closed source is also something to consider, like GPU drivers for example. AMD and Nvidia probably don't make their proprietary drivers open source because the source code may have company secrets in them. They also might make it closed source because they don't want other people tampering with the drivers, redistributing them, and then have customers complain that something isn't working properly when the company has nothing to do with it. Though, I'm not saying that Google is all-kind and would gladly look the other way in a situation like that.

 

mmmm , tipping google has made something in this line which infringes on someone else's patent and trying to let them say on record anyone can use theirs for open source. At that time google will come out with their thing and the other company cant sue... well played sir... well played.