S3TC Now Golden For Linux & Open-Source?

[hal2k1]

I'm sorry but I do not understand. This patent falls under this "action"?
How can we verify this?

Here you go:

http://www.openinventionnetwork.com/pat_license.php

OIN? grants patent license to licensee

– All OIN patents and applications for all products

Licensee grants patent license to OIN?

– All licensee patents and applications for the Linux System

Licensee grants license to other current and future licensees

– All licensee patents and applications for the Linux System

HTC has become an OIN licensee.

Therefore, HTC grants license to other current and future (OIN) licensees: All licensee patents (all HTCs patents) and applications for the Linux System

Therefore, any of the 280 companies who are members of the OIN have just been granted a license from HTC for all patents held by HTC which are applicable to Linux.

This cross-licensing is why OIN is described as a "network". The way that the "may not sue other OIN compnies" bit works is that all of the OIN companies license each other. They all have licenses for each others patents.

Here are the 280 companies:

http://www.openinventionnetwork.com/licensees.php

Any company amongst this list is licensed to use its own patents (of course) and also all of the patents applicable to Linux from the other 279 companies.

This amounts to a lot of patents, BTW.

[curaga]

Nice. This and the aspm power squash on the same day.

[stalkerg]

I'm sorry but I do not understand. This patent falls under this "action"?
How can we verify this?

[Prescience500]

Sounds like S4TC is about to be released, making S3TC irrelevant. I've been around the block a few times. Every time we attain a victory, it turns out to be irrelevant to the present day.

Perhaps, but the next time that HTC issues patents that would otherwise negatively affect Linux, Linux will be protected.

[cl333r]

I doubt that the Mesa developers will accept S3TC because of an agreement not to sue people for using this on Linux. Linux is only one of the many kernels that they support.

For the Mesa devs the Linux kernel is by far the most important one, if not the only one, since, as you might recall, they even got rid of DRI1 stuff that creates problems for non-Linux OSes like BSD & Solaris.

[Shining Arcanine]

I doubt that the Mesa developers will accept S3TC because of an agreement not to sue people for using this on Linux. Linux is only one of the many kernels that they support.

[sbergman27]

Sounds like S4TC is about to be released, making S3TC irrelevant. I've been around the block a few times. Every time we attain a victory, it turns out to be irrelevant to the present day.

[Laughing1]

This is real good news.

[phoronix]

Phoronix: S3TC Now Golden For Linux & Open-Source?

Many Phoronix readers have written in asking about the news this week concerning HTC joining the Open Invention Network. In particular, many Phoronix readers are interested in HTC joining OIN due to their acquisition of S3 Graphics earlier in the year and the accumulated graphics IP portfolio...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTAxNDE