Patent trolls target their next victim: Cloud computing

Grazed from InfoWorld. Author: Simon Phipps.

With the shift to cloud well under way, can we expect to see the same innovation-crushing surge of patent abuse in the field of cloud computing? Given the increasing deal sizes in the cloud space, the move by market leaders to focus on cloud for future growth, and the shortfall of current reform activity to restrict only the most egregious patent trolls (and not those using trolling as a line-of-business within a larger enterprise), it seems foreordained.

Much of cloud computing relies deeply on open source software. So the cloud news from the OIN (Open Invention Network) that broke in December — that Google would join and OIN would cover OpenStack — should come as no surprise. Why is the attack of the trolls inevitable? First, cloud computing has deep roots in clustering, scientific computing, and data analysis — and those have been favored topics for university research for years…

As we discovered from those who opposed the Innovation Act, universities frequently sell patent rights to trolls as they desperately try to make good on their mistaken belief they can make their institutions rich by patenting research. Second, the cloud computing space has been slow to become profitable, and many startups have already come and gone. VCs often insist on startups filing for patents so that there’s something to sell should their investment fail. The trolls lie in wait for these cheap spoils…

Read more from the source @ http://www.infoworld.com/d/open-source-software/patent-trolls-target-their-next-victim-cloud-computing-233944