[Solar-general] [Fwd: PUBPAT News: Sun Patent Grant Unclear: PUBPAT Sends Open Letter to Sun Seeking Answers]

[Beatriz Busaniche]

--------- Mensaje reenviado --------
De: Public Patent Foundation <info en pubpat.org>
Para: PUBPAT News List <news en pubpat.org>
Asunto: PUBPAT News: Sun Patent Grant Unclear: PUBPAT Sends Open Letter
to Sun Seeking Answers
Fecha: 	Fri, 28 Jan 2005 11:01:28 -0500
SUN PATENT GRANT UNCLEAR: PUBPAT Sends Open Letter to Sun Seeking Answers

NEW YORK -- The Public Patent Foundation ("PUBPAT") sent Sun
Microsystems Chairman and CEO, Scott McNealy, an open letter today about
the announcement earlier this week that Sun was granting the open source
software community access to more than 1,600 patents.  PUBPAT's letter,
written by Executive Director, Dan Ravicher, told Mr. McNealy that there
are serious questions about what Sun really means to do with its patent
grant and that free and open source software developers need
clarification in order to get a handle on when Sun can and cannot come
after them for patent infringement.

"The announcement was so broad in comparison to the related legal
documents, that serious questions now exist regarding what rights the
public has to Sun's patents," PUBPAT said in its letter.  "Free and open
source software developers must have clear answers to these questions so
that they can understand what rights they have to Sun's patents."

PUBPAT laid out several questions resulting from Sun's patent grant,
including which license must be used for software to be safe from Sun's
patents and whether Sun has waived rights to make patent claims against
software written by anyone other than Sun.  There was also a question
about Sun's relationship with Microsoft, and how it may impact patents
and the open source community.

"In Sun's announcement, they make sweeping statements about how the open
source community will immediately gain access to 1,600 active Sun
patents for operating systems, but the legal nitty-gritty behind the
announcement shows that Sun has retained the right to aim its entire
patent portfolio at GNU / Linux or any other free and open source
operating system, except, of course, for their soon to be released
version of Solaris," said Ravicher.  "Developers need to be very careful
about the details here and not be misled into thinking Sun has given
them more than it actually has."

More information about PUBPAT's open letter to Mr. McNealy regarding
Sun's patent grant, including a copy of the letter, can be found at
http://www.pubpat.org/Educating_and_Advocating.htm.

Contact:

Karen Duffin, Bite Communications: (415) 365-0459; Karen.Duffin en bitepr.com.

About PUBPAT:

The Public Patent Foundation ("PUBPAT") is a not-for-profit public
service organization working to protect the public from the harms caused
by wrongly issued patents and unsound patent policy.  To be kept
informed of PUBPAT News, subscribe to the PUBPAT News List by sending an
email with "subscribe" in the subject line to news-request en pubpat.org.
To be removed from the PUBPAT News List, send an email with
"unsubscribe" in the subject line to news-request en pubpat.org.

###

-- 
Beatriz Busaniche
http://www.d-sur.net/bbusaniche/