If anything, I hope this kind of litigation forces the US government to overhaul the patent system.
Also, what if Google simply Open Sourced the small amount of Android that isn't already Open Source? The Linux community would surely embrace it, integrate the bits not in the mainline kernel that should be, and move forward.
what if Google simply Open Sourced the small amount of Android that isn't already Open Source? The Linux community would surely embrace it, integrate the bits not in the mainline kernel that should be, and move forward.
This only changes things if manufacturers start making 'empty' phones and require users to download and install their own free operating system.
Furthermore, many of the patents cover the phones themselves and not just the software. So even if some version of Android was 100% patent unencumbered, the phone manufacturers would still find themselves in "negotiations" with the patent cartel.
The problem with that idea is that many parts of Android consists of fundamental changes to the Linux kernel. Google has repeatedly tried to get their changes incorporated, but Linus and the rest of the core linux developers has vetoed most of these changes.
The objections mostly deal with Android performing certain types of power optimizations that are detrimental to the mainline kernel.
So even if Google did "open" up android completely, it would represent a fork of the linux kernel instead of being "embraced".
The only alternative is to give the linux devs free rein to change Android and rebrand it (since you can't use the android moniker).
Getting code into the Linux kernel requires patience and a lot of work to conform to the standards set by the developers. I saw a great talk at ELC 2010 [1] from Greg Kroah-Hartman on the problems they faced when trying to get the Android changes into the kernel. He also did a short write-up of the problems[2].
Also, what if Google simply Open Sourced the small amount of Android that isn't already Open Source? The Linux community would surely embrace it, integrate the bits not in the mainline kernel that should be, and move forward.