The Free Software Foundation (FSF) released version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL). GNU GPL is a free software license. According to FSF, almost three quarters of all free software packages are distributed under the GNU GPL license.

Links: The Free Software Foundation, GNU, List of Software Licenses, GNU General Public License.

Web 2.0 + Patents = Patents 2.0? The Peer to Patent Project aims to design and pilot an online system for peer review of patents. Established in conjunction with the USPTO, and sponsored by IBM, this program will encourage communities to review pending patent applications and to provide feedback to the patent office on existing prior art that may not have been discovered by the applicant or examiner.

“By using social software, such as social reputation, collaborative filtering and information visualization tools, we can apply the ‘wisdom of the crowd’ – or, more accurately the wisdom of the experts – to complex social and scientific problems. This could make it easier to protect the inventor’s investment while safeguarding the marketplace of ideas.”

Links: The Peer to Patent Project, Project Wiki, Project Blog.

In a bid to stimulate the market for the Linux operating system, IBM, Novell, Philips, Red Hat, and Sony have joined forces to support the Open Invention Network (OIN). OIN will acquire Linux related patents. The patents will be available on a royalty-free basis to any company, institution, or individual that agrees not to assert its patents against the Linux operating system or certain Linux related applications.

Links: OIN Press Release, Reuters story, Open Source Development Lab (OSDL).

Websites such as shouldexist.org enable users to publish their inventive ideas and collaborate with others to refine and develop their inventions. Users may donate their time and money to the website and to specific projects. Of particular interest is that all discussions and projects are documented, dated, published on-line, and publicly available; this, and any other on-line publication, is considered prior art (MPEP 901.06, 2128 ). While it is unlikely that any patent office, patent attorney, or professional prior art searcher is currently searching this and similar websites, such sites should be searched prior to and during the drafting of any patent application. The public disclosures on sites such as shouldexist.org may also prove valuable in questioning the validity of patents during reexaminations and patent infringement proceedings.

Links: shouldexist.org, halfbakery.com, idea-a-day.com, brightidea.com, creativitypool.com, Idea Banks on dmoz.org, thinkcycle.org, globalideasbank.org.