Patents and Open Source / A presentation by Dr. Kalyan C Kankanala Contact Us for Intellectual Property Services BananaIP Counsels Regd Office No.40,3rd Main Road,JC Industrial Estate, Kanakapura Road,Bangalore – 560 062. Email: contact@bananaip.com Telephone: +91-80-26860414 /24/34

1. Patents and
Open Source
By
Dr. Kalyan C. Kankanala
kalyan@bananaip.com
www.bananaip.com
Blog: www.bananaip.com/sinapse-blog

2. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Patentability of Software
• India
• Europe
• USA

3. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Patent Rights
• Make
• Use
• Sell
• Offer for Sale
• Import

4. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Patent Risks
• Developer
• Third Party

5. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Patent Infringement
•Claims
•Construction
•Comparison
•Analysis

6. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Example
• WordBoy, a software company acquires a patent, one of
whose claims reads as follows:
• Claim
A process of enabling computing device to search in a
document, said process comprising of
- A user entering a keyword;
- Said computing device comparing said keyword to
words present in said document; and
- Said computing device highlighting said keyword in
said document if at least one match for said keyword has
been found in said document.

7. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Example Contd.
• Nitin develops a software for word processing
called as Word Moon with many advanced
features. One of the highlights of the software is
its search facilities within a document. Nitin
makes the software available under GPL V3.
RedCap develops the software further and makes
it available under a commercial license.
• What risks underlie RedCap's business?

8. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Microsoft's announcement
• 238 patents
• Linux
• Enforcement

9. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Redhat v. Firestar
• Hibernate 3.0
• Implementation
• Settlement

10. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Microsoft V. TomTom
• Security systems in
automobiles
• Linux implementation
• Patent suit and Counter-
suit
• Settlement

11. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Open Invention Network
• Linux system
• Pool of patents for use
• No patent assertion

12. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Open Patent
• Patent license
• Re-license improvement
• Free to use

13. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Example
• Blue White patents a process for sending
emails over wireless networks. Tallman, a
programmer based out of MIT writes a
program for sending an email using blue
tooth and makes it available under BSD
license. Watertel, a company that sells cell
phones, sells phones with Tallman's
software installed on them.
• Is Watertel liable for patent
infringement?

14. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Example
• Blue White develops the software and
makes it available under the BSD license.
• Would Watertel be liable for patent
infringement?
• Would it make a difference if the software
is made available under the Mozilla Public
License or General Public License?

15. Copyright, BananaIP, 2011.
Example
• Vini develops a software for transferring data into the
brain. She wishes to make it available as an open source
software. Her conditions are as follows:
a. Encourage widest possible adoption of the software;
b. Remove any patent risks in the software;
c. Ensure that developments of the software are also open
source; and
d. Enable commercial use of the software.
• What is the best strategy?

16. Thank You.
For more information:
http: www.bananaip.com/sinapse-blog