Google announces the Open Patent Non-Assertion (OPN) Pledge.



The objective behind this project is to support the open -source system, to provide a model for companies looking to put their own patents into the service of open-source software.
At Google it begun by identifying 10 patents relating to MapReduce, (a computing model for processing large data sets first developed at Google, open-source versions of which are now widely used and over time, expand the set
of Google’s patents covered by the pledge to other technologies.
As number of advantages, Google presents:  
  • Transparency. Patent holders determine exactly which patents and related technologies they wish to pledge, offering developers and the public transparency around patent rights.
  • Breadth. Protections under the OPN Pledge are not confined to a specific project or open-source copyright license. Google announces contributing a lot of code under such licenses, like the Apache or GNU GPL licenses.
  • Defensive protection. The Pledge may be terminated, but only if a party brings a patent suit against Google products or services, or is directly profiting from such litigation.
  • Durability. The Pledge remains in force for the life of the patents, even if we transfer them.

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