Novell wins federal court case over Linux patents

**saahne** · 01-May-2010, 20:45

Novell announced that on Friday a jury in federal court in Marshall, Texas, returned a verdict in favor of Novell, Inc. and Red Hat, in a case alleging patent infringement brought by IP Innovation LLC. IP Innovation argued that the Linux operating system infringed three patents related to the display of multiple desktops and other desktop effects. All the patents at issue were found to be invalid by the jury.

�We are very pleased that the jury reached a verdict in favor of Linux and of open source,� said Jim Lundberg, Vice President, Legal. �We hope this verdict sends a strong and unequivocal message to others that Novell and the open source community will vigorously defend any unsupported attacks on Linux and on open source innovation. �

**Knurpht** · 02-May-2010, 08:04

More news like this, please.

**Caleb_IX** · 03-May-2010, 16:30

Yea!!!

**saahne** · 04-May-2010, 11:04

For those interested: Here's What Red Hat'sassistant general counsel had to say about the case: Total victory for open source software in a patent lawsuit

It was clear during jury selection that our jurors had no prior knowledge of, or experience with, open source. Plaintiffs attempted to exploit this inexperience by arguing that open source software involved behavior that was, if not downright illegal, at least ethically dubious. They promoted the fallacy that open source distributors unfairly take the property of others and thereby unfairly profit. They also suggested that Red Hat's public criticisms of the U.S. patent system as it relates to software and related calls for legal reform were un-American and indicated a secret fondness for the writings of Karl Marx. I kid you not!... In the end, the jury saw through and quickly rejected plaintiffs' FUD. The jurors took a bit more than two hours to find every one of 23 issues in favor of Red Hat and Novell....We now know for certain that those in the business of bringing software patent lawsuits are not invincible, even in the supposedly patent-friendly jurisdiction of the Eastern District of Texas.

More on Groklaw.

**DenverD** · 04-May-2010, 14:38

saahne wrote:
> http://tinyurl.com/2g9jumu

REALLY good read, thanks for that pointer!

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**Caleb_IX** · 04-May-2010, 16:24

Originally Posted by saahne

For those interested: Here's What Red Hat'sassistant general counsel had to say about the case: Total victory for open source software in a patent lawsuit

More on Groklaw.

Open Source software is protected with the same instruments like closed source software. Contract (GPL), Copyright and patents (the last only in U.S.A.). Open Source is NOT fee software. Cisco Systems made this experience with GPL-duty.