Gnome documents safeguard against patent troll

A month back, GNOME was hit by a patent troll for building up the Shotwell picture the board application. It's the first run through a free programming venture has been focused along these lines, yet we stress it won't be the last. Rothschild Patent Imaging, LLC offered to let us settle for a high five figure sum, for which they would drop the case and give us a permit to continue creating Shotwell. This would have been easy to do as such; it would have caused less work, cost less cash, and gave the Foundation much less pressure. Be that as it may, it likewise would not be right. Consenting to this would leave this patent live, and enable this to be utilized as a weapon against endless others. We will stand firm against this ridiculous assault, for GNOME and Shotwell, however for all free and open source programming ventures.

Thus, GNOME Foundation Executive Director Neil McGovern taught our lawful insight at Shearman and Sterling to document three papers with the court in California.

Initial: a movement to reject the case altogether. We don't accept this is a legitimate patent, or that product can or ought to have the option to be licensed thusly. We need to ensure that this patent isn't utilized against any other person, ever.

Second: our response to the case. We don't accept that there is a case GNOME needs to reply to. We need to show that the utilization of Shotwell, and free programming by and large, isn't influenced by this patent.

Third: our counterclaim. We need to ensure this isn't simply dropped when Rothschild acknowledges we're going to battle this.

We need to make an impression on all product patent trolls out there — we will battle your suit, we will win, and we will have your patent discredited. To do this, we need your assistance. It would be ideal if you help bolster the GNOME Foundation in communicating something specific that patent trolls ought to never target free programming by making a gift to the GNOME Patent Troll Defense Fund. In the event that you can't, it would be ideal if you help spread the news with your companions via web-based networking media.