Group buys Microsoft patents to protect Linux

An intellectual property company has bought up 22 Linux-focused patents that used to be owned by Microsoft, to safeguard Linux against the threat of lawsuits.

The Open Invention Network (OIN) said it was particularly worried about the patents falling into the hands of "patent trolls", companies that could file lawsuits even if they had no intention of creating something from the invention.

OIN has industry backing from companies like IBM, NEC, Novell and Red Hat, and was created to ensure that patents could be openly shared among companies that wanted to spend money on Linux.

This would leave programmers and vendors free to use Linux without intellectual property issues.

"The prospect of these patents being placed in the hands of non-practising entities was a threat that has been averted with these purchases," said OIN chief executive Keith Bergelt in a statement.

OIN did not buy the patents straight from Microsoft, but from an organisation called the Allied Security Trust (AST), which was originally formed by tech companies to buy cost-effective patent licences.