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Remember the bad old days of SCO, FUD and ultimate glory? An announcement by Google this week suggests there may be a patent tempest just over the horizon for Android.
On Monday, Google announced a new program intended to create an expanding umbrella of protection over its Android operating system and compliant applications. Whether the new initiative will provide such protection, or represents only a “feel good” PR opportunity remains to be seen. If history and what’s visible so far are any indication, the odds tip towards the latter.
The brief announcement (just six paragraphs long), appeared at the Google Blog, and begins as follows:
In Latin, the word pax means “peace.” In the world of intellectual property, patent peace often coincides with innovation and healthy competition that benefit consumers. It is with a hope for such benefits that we are announcing our newest patent licensing initiative focusing on patent peace, which we call PAX.
Under PAX, members grant each other royalty-free patent licenses covering Android and Google Applications on qualified devices. This community-driven clearinghouse, developed together with our Android partners, ensures that innovation and consumer choice—not patent threats—will continue to be key drivers of our Android ecosystem. PAX is free to join and open to anyone.
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