OIN will help Gnome against patent troll lawsuit

Gnome Troll OIN

The organization of the Open Invention Network (INO), dedicated to the protection of the Linux ecosystem, will take part in the protection of the Gnome project, this due to the lawsuit it received from the patent troll Rothschild Patent Imaging LLC. At the Open Source Summit Europe conference these days, the director of OIN said the organization had already assembled a team of lawyers that they would investigate the facts of the prior use of the technologies described in the patent, which would help invalidate the patent.

Rothschild Patent Imaging LLC is a classic patent troll that lives primarily off small business claims and companies lacking the resources for a long lawsuit and it is easier for them to pay compensation. In the last 6 years, Rothschild Patent Imaging LLC has filed 714 such claims.

The Gnome Foundation is charged with patent infringement 9,936,086 in Shotwell photo manager. The patent is dated 2008 and describes a technique to wirelessly connect an image-capturing device (phone, webcam) to an image-receiving device (computer) and then selectively transmit images with filtering by date, location, and other parameters. .

GNOME reported by Shotwell
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Rothschild Patent Imaging LLC, argues that the infringement of the patent is done only by having the import function from the camera, the ability to group images according to certain criteria and submit images to external sites (for example, to a social network or photography service).

After receiving said demand, the Gnome foundation did not sit idly by and I announce that I would not give in to this patent troll and would fight until the last moment to invalidate the patent.

After that, Rothschild Patent Imaging LLC Proposed Gnome Foundation To Drop Lawsuit in exchange for the purchase of a license to use a patent, but Gnome did not accept the agreement and decided to fight to the end, as the assignment would jeopardize other open projects that could become victims of said patent troll.

GNOME reported by Shotwell
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That is why the foundation Gnome requested the help of the community to finance the protection of Gnome and established the Gnome Patent Troll Defense Fund, which has already raised $ 109 thousand of the 125 thousand needed and has already posted a message about it:

“The fund dedicated to the fight against the Patent Troll has crossed the $ 100,000 mark. Our opponent gets nervous. Let's make them sweat a little more. Financial contributions were made on average 15 minutes after a pledge.

We just want to thank you all for your kindness and generosity. We are so thankful that fighting bullies is something we can all appreciate and unite with. Let's keep showing them that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us and set a precedent.

Not only do they not have to wage a patent war, but we will fight and withdraw their patents if we can.

This is where it comes in the OIN, which offered to help the Gnome foundation, although it has certain limitations since it cannot use the set of patents created for the protection of Linux for the protection of Gnome, since Rothschild Patent Imaging LLC only owns the intellectual property, but does not carry out development and production activities, that is, it cannot be sued for violating the terms of use of patents on any product.

According to the director of the OIN, the organization initially focused on creating conditions that protect Linux hostile behavior of manufacturing companies.

Since open projects have become more popular in all areas, such companies are less and less. Therefore, now OIN can pay attention to the risks that arise as a result of the activity of companies (the patent trolls) that live only through lawsuits and deductions.

In the near future, OIN also intends to announce a new partnership with two large companies with experience in opposing patents. insolvent and invalidate those patents.


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