goos news, hopefully they can figure out where they fit in the market:
Microsoft opens up 35 Web services patents
As SOA and Web services march forward, the threat of patent lawsuits has loomed (and fortunately has stayed, so far) in the background. As I reported last week, Gartner's Andrew White sounded the alarm about potential legal landmines that could disrupt efforts to integrate enterprise systems.
Some vendors are getting the message, and are publicly issuing promises not to act on Web services patents that they hold. Now, open source legal expert Andy Updegrove reports that Microsoft has just issued such a pledge, promising "not to assert" any claims to 35 Web services patents it holds.
These aren't arcane processes, either, as they include the WS-* specifications that Microsoft has jointly developed and supported with IBM and BEA over the years, as well as the key standards of Web services, such as SOAP and WSDL. (CNET's Martin LaMonica also provides details on Microsoft's announcement here.)
September 15, 2006
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