<s>
Opposition	O
to	O
software	O
patents	O
is	O
widespread	O
in	O
the	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Community	O
leaders	O
such	O
as	O
Richard	O
Stallman	O
,	O
Alan	O
Cox	O
,	O
Bruce	O
Perens	O
,	O
and	O
Linus	O
Torvalds	O
and	O
companies	O
such	O
as	O
Red	O
Hat	O
,	O
and	O
MySQL	B-Application
,	O
and	O
community	O
groups	O
such	O
as	O
FSFE	O
,	O
IFSO	O
,	O
all	O
believe	O
that	O
patents	O
cause	O
problems	O
for	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Free	B-Application
software	I-Application
projects	O
cannot	O
agree	O
to	O
patent	O
licences	O
that	O
include	O
any	O
kind	O
of	O
per-copy	O
fee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
matter	O
how	O
low	O
the	O
fee	O
is	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
way	O
for	O
a	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
distributor	O
to	O
know	O
how	O
many	O
copies	O
are	O
being	O
made	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
adding	O
any	O
requirements	O
to	O
pay	O
or	O
to	O
notify	O
someone	O
each	O
time	O
a	O
copy	O
is	O
made	O
would	O
make	O
the	O
software	O
no	O
longer	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Version	O
2	O
of	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
General	I-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
does	O
not	O
allow	O
software	O
to	O
be	O
distributed	O
if	O
that	O
software	O
requires	O
a	O
patent	O
licence	O
that	O
does	O
not	O
"	O
permit	O
royalty-free	O
redistribution	O
of	O
the	O
Program	O
by	O
all	O
those	O
who	O
receive	O
copies	O
directly	O
or	O
indirectly	O
through	O
you	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Version	O
2	O
of	O
the	O
GNU	B-License
General	I-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
of	O
1991	O
also	O
says	O
that	O
patents	O
convert	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
to	O
proprietary	O
software	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
this	O
study	O
,	O
Ravicher	O
performed	O
patent	O
searches	O
to	O
estimate	O
the	O
patent-risk	O
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
:	O
</s>
<s>
infringed	O
by	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
courts	O
,	O
could	O
potentially	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
support	O
patent	O
claims	O
against	O
Linux.However	O
,	O
Mark	O
Webbink	O
,	O
who	O
was	O
Red	O
Hat	O
's	O
Deputy	O
General	O
Counsel	O
,	O
said	O
that	O
Ravicher	O
did	O
not	O
deduce	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
to	O
infringe	O
any	O
of	O
said	O
patents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Patent	O
retaliation	O
"	O
clauses	O
are	O
included	O
in	O
several	O
free	B-License
software	I-License
licenses	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Operating_System
Free	I-Operating_System
Software	I-Operating_System
Foundation	I-Operating_System
included	O
a	O
narrow	O
patent	O
retaliation	O
clause	O
in	O
drafts	O
1	O
and	O
2	O
of	O
version	O
3	O
of	O
the	O
GPL	B-License
,	O
however	O
,	O
this	O
clause	O
was	O
removed	O
in	O
draft	O
3	O
as	O
its	O
enforceability	O
and	O
effectiveness	O
was	O
decided	O
to	O
be	O
too	O
dubious	O
to	O
be	O
worth	O
the	O
added	O
complexity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
broader	O
clauses	O
are	O
those	O
of	O
the	O
Apache	B-Application
License	I-Application
and	O
the	O
Mozilla	B-License
Public	I-License
License	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
OIN	O
is	O
a	O
company	O
that	O
acquires	O
patents	O
and	O
offers	O
them	O
royalty	O
free	O
"	O
to	O
any	O
company	O
,	O
institution	O
or	O
individual	O
that	O
agrees	O
not	O
to	O
assert	O
its	O
patents	O
against	O
the	O
Linux	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
or	O
certain	O
Linux-related	O
applications	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
OIN	O
's	O
founders	O
intend	O
for	O
these	O
patents	O
to	O
encourage	O
others	O
to	O
join	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
discourage	O
legal	O
threats	O
against	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
and	O
Linux-related	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Along	O
with	O
several	O
other	O
projects	O
,	O
Mono	B-Application
is	O
listed	O
as	O
a	O
covered	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
earliest	O
was	O
the	O
League	B-Application
for	I-Application
Programming	I-Application
Freedom	I-Application
in	O
the	O
USA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Probably	O
the	O
most	O
successful	O
was	O
the	O
anti-software-patent	O
campaign	O
in	O
Europe	O
that	O
resulted	O
in	O
the	O
rejection	O
by	O
the	O
European	O
Parliament	O
of	O
the	O
Proposed	O
directive	O
on	O
the	O
patentability	O
of	O
computer-implemented	O
inventions	O
which	O
,	O
the	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
community	O
argues	O
,	O
would	O
have	O
made	O
software	O
patents	O
enforceable	O
in	O
the	O
European	O
Union	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
software	O
companies	O
who	O
hold	O
significant	O
patent	O
portfolios	O
have	O
made	O
non-aggression	O
pledges	O
to	O
the	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
has	O
claimed	O
that	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
such	O
as	O
OpenOffice.org	B-Application
and	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
violate	O
235	O
Microsoft	O
patents	O
and	O
said	O
that	O
it	O
will	O
seek	O
licence	O
fees	O
,	O
but	O
has	O
so	O
far	O
failed	O
to	O
disclose	O
which	O
patents	O
they	O
may	O
violate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
2009	O
lawsuit	O
against	O
TomTom	O
involved	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
patents	O
for	O
long	O
filenames	O
on	O
FAT	O
filesystems	O
,	O
the	O
code	O
for	O
which	O
was	O
in	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
not	O
in	O
any	O
TomTom-developed	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
developers	O
subsequently	O
worked	O
around	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
a	O
company	O
called	O
Bedrock	O
Technologies	O
LLC	O
won	O
a	O
judgment	O
of	O
$5	O
million	O
against	O
Google	O
for	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
the	O
court	O
found	O
to	O
violate	O
US	O
patent	O
5,893,120	O
(	O
which	O
was	O
filed	O
in	O
1997	O
and	O
issued	O
in	O
1999	O
,	O
and	O
covers	O
techniques	O
for	O
software	O
caches	O
likely	O
used	O
in	O
every	O
modern	O
operating	O
system	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bedrock	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
sue	O
Yahoo	O
and	O
lost	O
;	O
Yahoo	O
's	O
defense	O
amounted	O
to	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
different	O
version	O
of	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
which	O
did	O
not	O
execute	O
the	O
particular	O
code	O
that	O
Bedrock	O
had	O
pointed	O
out	O
as	O
infringing	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
Yahoo	O
case	O
did	O
not	O
invalidate	O
Bedrock	O
's	O
patent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2008	O
,	O
Trend	O
Micro	O
accused	O
Barracuda	O
Networks	O
of	O
patent	O
infringement	O
for	O
distribution	O
of	O
the	O
ClamAV	B-Application
anti-virus	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
much	O
criticism	O
of	O
Novell	O
by	O
the	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
community	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
founder	O
and	O
director	O
Mark	O
Shuttleworth	O
has	O
said	O
that	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
will	O
not	O
be	O
making	O
any	O
such	O
deal	O
,	O
as	O
have	O
Red	O
Hat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
2007	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
granted	O
the	B-Language
Samba	I-Language
project	I-Language
access	O
to	O
certain	O
proprietary	O
documents	O
and	O
must	O
maintain	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
related	O
patents	O
for	O
a	O
one-time	O
fee	O
of	O
10,000	O
Euros	O
.	O
</s>
