14 DAY TRIAL // In a move designed to safeguard the Linux community, a group of companies intimately connected with the open source world revealed having acquired no less than 22 Linux-focused patents which belonged to Microsoft at one point. The Redmond-based company had initially unloaded the 22 items on its intellectual property roster to Allied Security Trust (AST), a third-party patent broker, in July 2009. It was AST that subsequently sold the 22 patents to the Open Invention Network.
"Today's announcement evidences OIN's continued commitment to acquire patents that may be relevant to Linux," noted Keith Bergelt, Chief Executive Officer of Open Invention Network. The 22 patents, although sold by Microsoft earlier this year, were not the result of home bred innovation. The software giant itself had acquired the patents from SGI in 2002, having reportedly paid $63 million.
Neither Microsoft nor AST wished to disclose the financial details of the July 2009 deal. The same is valid for AST and the Open Invention Network in the most recent trade of intellectual property. However, a Microsoft spokesperson noted that the Redmond-based company considered the 22 patents “non-core to our business and non-essential for our IP portfolio,” according to Mary-Jo Foley.
"We are pleased to have purchased these patents and view this as a model of successful collaboration among defensive patent organizations that share a common goal of creating freedom of action for practicing entities across Linux and the broader technology sector. The prospect of these patents being placed in the hands of non-practicing entities was a threat that has been averted with these purchases, irrespective of patent quality and whether or not the patents truly read on Linux,” Bergelt added.
The Open Invention Network defines itself as a collaborative enterprise with open source at the core. Among the companies backing up the network are IBM, NEC, Novell, Philips, Red Hat and Sony. "Allied Security Trust is pleased that Open Invention Network had interest in acquiring the Open Source patent portfolio. OIN's purchase ensures that these important patents will not be used by patent trolls or others seeking to disrupt Linux and the many companies and individuals advancing this important technology," stated Dan McCurdy, Chief Executive Officer of Allied Security Trust.