Legal battles pose biggest threat to Linux

Legal battles are the biggest threat to the future of open source, according to Linux creator Linus Torvalds.

At the Novell BrainShare 2004 conference in Salt Lake City, Torvalds told delegates that current software patent battles over the Linux source code were the greatest danger right now.

"As a technical guy I think we can solve all the technical issues around Linux. The thing that is worrying me is software patents," said Torvalds.

"Non-technology issues could stop what we can do and that's the very scary part."

But Torvalds said that Linux's strength in open source was helping it to achieve mass adoption.

"What I did do right was to not make [Linux] proprietary and that's what has made all this possible," he said.

Linux therefore can continue to adapt and not become 'niche' as a result of any one vendor's strategy.

Torvalds added that Linux's open source approach also made it ripe for adoption by government departments.

"When it comes to governments using the thing, what I have found interesting is that you're not beholden to anybody," he said.

"I think governments are finding that important too."

When asked what the 'next big thing' would be in the Linux developer community, Torvalds said achieving mass adoption of the Linux 2.6 kernel, released at the end of last year, would be the biggest priority for the next few months.

"What we are waiting for right now is for people to start using the latest kernel," he said.