????一個成員包括IBM的技術公司聯(lián)盟正在擴大為開發(fā)商、銷售商和開源軟件（比如Linux）用戶提供的專利保護范圍。此舉旨在遏制各大公司互相就專利侵權事件提起訴訟的趨勢。

????這個名為開源發(fā)明網(wǎng)絡（Open Invention Network）的聯(lián)盟已經(jīng)為某些在公司數(shù)據(jù)中心和后臺服務器上開發(fā)的Linux和開源應用程序提供了一系列專利保護。該聯(lián)盟最近宣布它們將把這些保護延伸至700多個其他的開源軟件包，其中包括谷歌（Google）的安卓智能手機操作系統(tǒng)（Android）、頗受歡迎的程序員開發(fā)工具包OpenJDK，以及一些與網(wǎng)絡管理和安全相關的應用程序。聯(lián)盟CEO凱斯?伯爾格特說：“隨著Linux社區(qū)的持續(xù)擴大，我們必須擴展保護的范圍。”

????開源發(fā)明網(wǎng)絡聯(lián)盟是IBM、Novel、飛利浦（Philips）、紅帽（Red Hat）、索尼（Sony）和日本電氣（NEC）等公司于2005年組建的，旨在形成一種合作的氛圍，促進免費開源軟件的蓬勃發(fā)展。如今，開源發(fā)明網(wǎng)絡已成為一個以創(chuàng)始成員為中樞的龐大社區(qū)，“特許使用的”公司超過了400多家，其中包括谷歌、甲骨文（Oracle）、雅虎（Yahoo）、富士通（Fujitsu）和LG電子等巨頭，F(xiàn)acebook、Twitter和思科（Cisco）等公司也于去年加入了該聯(lián)盟。

????免費開源軟件由獨立的程序員合作編寫而成，并根據(jù)許可條款賦予用戶某些通常被專有軟件公司（比如微軟公司）禁止的“自由”。這些自由包括閱讀、修改、復制和重新發(fā)布軟件源代碼的權利。最有名的開源產(chǎn)品當屬Linux操作系統(tǒng)（又稱GNU/Linux）。這套完整的開源軟件系統(tǒng)迅速受到財富500強（Fortune 500）公司的歡迎，被廣泛應用于它們的數(shù)據(jù)中心服務器中。然而，免費開源軟件的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)正受到專利權的威脅：如果聯(lián)盟外部的某個人能夠證實軟件的某一特定構件侵犯了他合法持有的專利權，這些重要的開源自由就無從落實。

????因此，開源發(fā)明網(wǎng)絡聯(lián)盟防御性地收購了一組具有戰(zhàn)略性的專利，任何承諾不向Linux社區(qū)成員主張其自身專利權的公司均可使用這些專利，且無需交納專利權使用費。每個特許用戶還可以免費使用任何其他特許用戶持有的專利，至少是許可條款指定的某款Linux應用程序。現(xiàn)在，特許用戶可集體使用的產(chǎn)品組合包括超過35萬項專利及應用。

????由于開源發(fā)明網(wǎng)絡聯(lián)盟對Linux的原始定義已不再能反映Linux實際使用的廣度，該聯(lián)盟現(xiàn)在正在擴充這一定義。例如，由于這種變化，依托于Linux的安卓智能手機操作系統(tǒng)（該系統(tǒng)目前在市場上處于領先地位）將被Linux的新定義所涵蓋。據(jù)網(wǎng)絡趨勢調查公司康姆斯科（ComScore）的數(shù)據(jù)，截止去年12月，安卓系統(tǒng)已經(jīng)占據(jù)了47.3％的市場份額，蘋果公司（Apple）位居第二，市場占有率為29.6%。

????伯爾格特對前景非常樂觀。他說，未來一兩年內，更多的公司將以越來越快的速度簽署開源發(fā)明網(wǎng)絡聯(lián)盟頒發(fā)的許可證。這些新成員或許將包括三星（Samsung）、英特爾（Intel）、華為（Huawei）和戴爾（Dell）等公司，它們都在“大舉投資Linux和開源應用”。他認為，未來某個時刻，開源發(fā)明網(wǎng)絡聯(lián)盟將抵達一個轉折點，屆時，還沒有加入聯(lián)盟的公司可能會感到日益孤立。“人們總喜歡跟讓他們覺得輕松自在的人共事，如果某家公司不是特許使用者，外界或許會認為它不愿致力于Linux和開源應用運動。”

????譯者：任文科

????An alliance of technology corporations, including IBM, is expanding the scope of patent protection it provides to developers, vendors, and users of open source software such as Linux. The move cuts against the grain of major companies going after each other, filing suit over patent infringement.

????The consortium, known as the Open Invention Network, already provides an array of patent protections to certain Linux and open-source applications found on corporate data-center and back-office servers. Today's announcement will extend those protections to more than 700 additional open-source software packages, including Android, Google's (GOOG) smartphone operating system; OpenJDK, a popular programmers' development kit; and applications relating to network management and security. "As the Linux community expands," says the network's CEO Keith Bergelt, "we've had to broaden the aperture of our protections."

????OIN was formed in 2005 by IBM (IBM), Novel, Philips, Red Hat, Sony (SNE), and NEC (NIPNF) to foster a cooperative environment in which free and open-source software (FOSS) could thrive. Today the OIN's original charter members form the hub of a community that includes more than 400 "licensee" companies, including such giants as Google, Oracle (ORCL), Yahoo (YHOO), Fujitsu (FJTSY), LG Electronics (LGL), and, as of the past year, recent signatories like Facebook, Twitter, and Cisco (CSCO).

????Free and open-source software is written collaboratively by independent programmers and, by its licensing terms, confers certain "freedoms" upon users that are usually forbidden by proprietary software companies, like Microsoft (MSFT). These freedoms include the right to see the software's source code, alter it, copy it, and redistribute it. The best known open-source product is Linux, or GNU/Linux, a complete open-source operating system that quickly became popular among Fortune 500 corporations for use on data-center servers. Patents threaten the free-and-open-source eco-system, however, in that none of the key open-source freedoms can be practiced if an outsider can establish that a given piece of software infringes a valid patent he holds.

????OIN has, therefore, acquired a defensive portfolio of strategic patents which it makes available, royalty free, to companies that commit not to assert their own patents against members of the Linux community. Every licensee also then enjoys royalty-free protection from every other licensee's patent portfolio, at least as it relates to the specific Linux applications that are designated in the license. Today, the licensees' collective portfolio includes more than 350,000 patents and applications.

????Because OIN's original definition of Linux no longer reflects the breadth of Linux's actual usage, OIN is expanding that definition. As a result of the change, for instance, Linux-based Android—today the leading smartphone operating system—will become covered by the OIN definition. (According to the comScore metrics service, Android had 47.3% market share as of December. Apple (AAPL) was second, with 29.6%.)

????Bergelt is optimistic, he adds, that additional companies will be signing OIN licenses at an accelerating pace within the next year or two, and that these new members might include, for instance, Samsung, Intel (INTC), Huawei, and Dell (DELL), which are "all making major investments in Linux and open source." He suggests that at some point the network will reach a tipping point at which companies that have not joined up may feel increasingly isolated. "You work with people you're comfortable with," he says. "If you're not a licensee, you might be seen as not committed to Linux or open source."