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BT Goes for Android's Jugular With Patent Claims December 20, 2011 
British Telecom has filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming the Android operating system infringes of six of its patents. The suit attacks Google on a number of fronts, including Google Maps, Google+ and Google Music. While the technology in question has been used by Google for years, it may have taken the experts at BT some time to prepare their claim.
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Samsung Catches a Break in Australia Patent Tiff December 01, 2011 
Samsung has scored a victory against Apple in a legal skirmish in Australia that is part of a larger, global battle between the two over their respective patent rights. An Australian appeals court overturned a preliminary injunction that barred Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the country.
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The Flowering of Open Innovation November 29, 2011 
Henry Chesbrough and Eric von Hippel promoted the idea of open innovation as a new paradigm for corporations to reach beyond their own walls as they develop and bring to market new products and services. The idea covered a number of channels for work and ideas, including customers, users and partners.
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Android's Biggest Fan Is Microsoft, of Course October 31, 2011 
It's been obvious for some time now that Microsoft is a big Android fan, thanks to the tidy sums of cash the software giant has managed to extract from the companies that use it. What wasn't necessarily apparent until recently, however, is just how far Redmond's devotion goes. With last week's addition of Compal Electronics to Microsoft's Android licensing lineup, it's becoming truly clear.
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ITC Ruling Pushes HTC Onto Thin Ice in Apple Patent Brawl October 18, 2011 
Apple did not violate four HTC patents, an International Trade Commission judge has ruled. HTC filed a complaint with the commission in May 2010, alleging Apple infringed on several mobile patent technologies, including those for power management of mobile devices and phone dialing.
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Microsoft Adds a Notch to Its Gun Belt With Quanta Licensing Deal October 14, 2011 
Quanta Computer has agreed to pay Microsoft a license fee for devices that run Google Android or Chrome. It is the latest deal in a series that Microsoft has inked with manufacturers using Android, and more lately, Chrome, in their products. Other notable wins for Microsoft have been Samsung and HTC.
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How NOT to Push a New Open Source License, Part 2 September 16, 2011 
Maybe it's time for yet another open source license. Consider this: The Respect The Programmer License (RPL) Version 0.3. The RPL addresses one problem prevalent in most licenses, including the BSD, MIT, and GPL -- it's easier to just edit the file in front of you to fix a bug or add a feature than it is to contact the author and make sure everyone benefits.
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How NOT to Push a New Open Source License, Part 1 September 15, 2011 
Bruce Perens recently introduced what he calls a "Covenant" open source license on behalf of Lexis-Nexis, owned by Reed Elsevier, aka "the scientific journal paywall people," for one of Lexis-Nexis' internal projects. It didn't take long for readers on both slashdot and lwn to rip it apart. Of particular concern was the requirement that contributors assign their copyrights to Lexis-Nexis.
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Heeding the Lessons of SCO, or Not September 13, 2011 
We recently saw what is being described as the ending of the seven-year-old SCO contract and intellectual property dispute that dragged Linux through the mud before it propelled the open source OS into much broader enterprise use and credibility. You'd think the lessons of SCO would be a shining example for technology companies of what not to do in order to maintain leadership and relevance.
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FSF's Star Turn in the Android FUDathon, Part 4 September 09, 2011 
"Strike while the iron is hot" -- and the usual suspects have made Android licensing a hot issue. However, the title of the FSF article, "Android GPLv2 termination worries -- one more reason to upgrade to GPLv3," gives the game away. This is about politics, not licensing. About pushing a specific agenda. About promoting the GPLv3 license at the expense of the GPLv2, Linux, Android and reality.
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FSF's Star Turn in the Android FUDathon, Part 3 September 08, 2011 
Where did this "you are permanently barred from distributing" stuff originate? In digging around, I found a post titled "A Practical Guide to GPL Compliance" at the Software Freedom Law Center dated August 26, 2008, written by the team of Bradley M. Kuhn, Aaron Williamson and Karen M. Sandler.
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FSF's Star Turn in the Android FUDathon, Part 2 September 07, 2011 
Mr. Smith was kind enough to reply two days later: "Hi Barbara, Thanks for your feedback. I've responded to some your specific points below. I'm aware that a license change in Linux would require significant effort. However, that doesn't mean it can't or shouldn't be done. I wish it was easier for them, but we think they stand to benefit from upgrading even in this current situation. ..."
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FSF's Star Turn in the Android FUDathon, Part 1 September 06, 2011 
My first thought was that someone was engaging in click-bait journalism. Even the title of the post -- "Android GPLv2 termination worries - one more reason to upgrade to GPLv3" -- is something I would expect from anti-Android trolls, not the Free Software Foundation. The conclusion at the bottom of the article, that companies using Android should urge Linux developers to switch to the GPLv3, is so bad it's not even wrong.
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A Tale of Two Licenses September 01, 2011 
Well the wild ride that was August appears to have tapered off a bit as the month drew to a close, so Linux bloggers have finally had a few days to stop and catch their breath.
Bartenders throughout the blogosphere have had a chance to restock their supplies, and conversations have, for the most part, returned to normal volumes. There's one exception, however.
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Shelter for Linux in the Software Patent Storm August 18, 2011 
Patents, patents, patents. Such a to-do about software patents! The news this week has focused on little else, thanks in large part, of course, to Google's much-discussed
purchase of Motorola Mobility. It's fairly widely agreed that patents were the motivating factor behind that purchase -- not at all surprising, given the virtual lawsuit-fest the mobile world has become.
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The Slim Possibility That Microsoft's SUSE Deal Could Be Good for Linux August 04, 2011 
July was a Microsoft-filled month, and that trend continued right up until the very end. Case in point? Hard on the heels of Redmond's little birthday present to Linux a few weeks ago, the Windows behemoth and SUSE announced last week that they are renewing the years-long patent deal originally signed by Novell but due to expire next year.
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