Sun granting 1,600+ patents to open source
By releasing the OpenSolaris OS platform under the CDDL, the open source community will immediately gain access to 1,600 active Sun patents for all aspects of operating system technologies that encompass features ranging from kernel technology and file systems to network management, to name a few.
Patents for Sun's newest technologies, such as the anticipated Dynamic Tracing technology, will also be available under the open access program.
Game on! Looks like they're getting serious about developer mindshare. Sun has sort of tiptoed around OSS for years, taking hesitant steps here, backing off, then gingerly easing up... IBM has done something similar, and nicer, as their release was compatible across the GPL. This is still a big, big deal to those who choose to work on OpenSolaris as a platform instead of Linux, etc.
Update: GrokLaw has a very good write-up, explaining some niceties and why there are some flaws that could harm adopters down the road.
Posted by drunkenbatmanJanuary 28, 2005, at 05:13 PM
