Despite SCO failing to make much progress in its lawsuits against IBM and others for allegedly infringing its Unix software copyrights, uncertainty over patents remains, and is causing the City of Munich to ask German politicians to clarify the legal issues.
Munich is currently moving from Windows to Linux desktops. The transition is being watched closely by many corporates and government bodies considering a similar move to open-source operating environments. If the Munich project is seen to be successful, it could encourage more firms and governments elsewhere to adopt open-source systems.
Any problems resulting from SCO's legal actions could have important ramifications. But SCO is not the only concern for firms pondering a move to open-source systems. Other vendors also claim patents and licences that could affect open-source deployments.
"There are some 80 patents in question with the Munich case," said Joyce Becknell, research director at analyst firm Sageza. "Munich decided it ought to work through them all to assess the implications of each. But as this is a desktop transition it has more long-term implications and Munich is pushing the Linux community and indeed European politicians to sort out some of the issues involved."
Becknell believes the outcome will depend largely on the stance taken by politicians. "There are always those who claim cost/money is the only issue, but in this case I really believe it's the patent issue," she said. "I don't think it's the patent issues with the vendors per se, but it is the ongoing problem of patent law. There is, for example, a game going on between Germany and the European Commission in Brussels, with the Germans pushing Brussels on how it plans to handle patent law. The basic argument is that the US system rewards large companies that run around patenting all sorts of concepts like online shopping carts [which is not currently allowed in Europe], stifling innovation among smaller companies. Everyone is waiting on Brussels to come out with the European view."
Meanwhile, some Linux supporters such as IBM have moved to reassure potential users. At the recent LinuxWorld event in San Fransisco, IBM senior vice-president for technology and manufacturing, Nick Donofrio, said, "I can assure you that IBM has no intention of using its patents against the Linux kernel." This could go a long way to tackling the concerns of the City of Munich and others. "Something like a third of the patents Munich has identified are IBM's," added Donofrio.
However, Becknell pointed out that the licensing issues go further than IBM. She noted recent statements by Martin Fink, HP's vice-president of Linux who criticised the Open Source Initiative (OSI) for issuing too many types of open-source licence - over 50. Fink added that he approves up to five open-source projects or contributions a week and, "I have never had to create a new licence, so I have a really hard time understanding why [other open-source backers have to]."
It is clear the stakes are high. "If IBM can get a large part of [SCO's] suit dismissed out of hand, then much of the problem will go away and the community will relax," Becknell said. "If this case goes to trial, it could potentially get really ugly and affect the community. Then who owns what will become important. So if IBM/ HP continue to promise to protect and aid their customers, and enough of the other partners go along with them, then that should be good enough for most customers to continue [with open-source]."
Becknell noted differences between US and European law were adding to the complexity, though the outcome of the German project could help to set a precedent.
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