Patent suit targets Red Hat and Novell

Red Hat and Novell have been accused of patent infringements in their Linux distributions

Intellectual property licensing firms IP Innovation and Technology Licensing Corporation have filed a lawsuit against Red Hat and Novell for alleged patent infringements in their Linux distributions.

The legal case is the first patent challenge against Linux distributors in court, and concerns patent numbers 5,072,412, 5,533,183 and 5,394,521.

All three describe a "user interface with multiple workspaces for sharing display system objects" and were issued between December 1991 and February 1995.

The suit was filed on 9 October in the district court of Eastern Texas, where judges are known to favour patent owners.

The plaintiffs demand an injunction prohibiting Novell and Red Hat from continuing to infringe the three patents, as well as unspecified damages.

Novell and Red Hat have indemnification clauses in their user agreements, vowing to protect end users from such claims. Users can therefore trust that they will not be affected by the suit.

A Novell spokesperson said that the firm is evaluating its options and vowed to defend its interests. Red Hat did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Intellectual property licensing firms like IP Innovation and Technology Licensing Corporation exist for the sole purpose of licensing patents.

Because they do not make any products of their own, they cannot be targeted with countersuits which have traditionally been the defence of choice against patent suits.

Firms targeted by these so-called 'patent trolls' are often forced to settle. Microsoft paid $521m in August 2007 to end a patent suit from Eolas, while Research in Motion paid $612m in March 2006 to end a patent suit from NTP.

The US Supreme Court limited the power of patent trolls earlier this year. A panel of judges ruled that an automatic injunction was only required if the plaintiff produced a product that relied on the patent.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer predicted last week that Linux vendors would soon be targeted by patent holding companies.

Ballmer also warned that Red Hat users would have to compensate Microsoft for patents which the firm believes are infringed by Linux.

The Linux Foundation denounced the latest threat. Jim Zemlin, the organisation's executive director, said in an emailed statement that the patent claims against Red Hat and Novell would be defeated in a similar way to IBM and Novell's defeat of S CO.

"This case will aid those of us who advocate the cause of patent reform by demonstrating the wasteful drain that the current process imposes on innovative activities," said Zemlin.

"We are committed to continuing our vigorous support for meaningful amendment of the software patent laws."