Negotiating for using Royalty Free patents

[Ryan McDougall <ryan mcdougall telusplanet net>]

I was thinking about software or UI patents, in specific about the Java/
C# issue, and one thing I kept coming back to is that we worry about
these things but I was surprised during that discussion to see that
there is not real dialogue with the people who hold these patents, or
make these decisions. The assumption always is that these companies will
sue is given a choice, however that assumption may not be true: many
companies hold patents for defencive purposes, and may have strong
sympathies for free software... once upon a time Sun open sourced Star
Office to spite microsoft.

Lets take one specific example: spring-loaded folders (a dumb name for
folders that open when you hover over them during a drag-n-drop).

Has anyone tried to talk to Apple to allow us to use their patent for
this on our desktop? It seems to me that we pose no real business threat
to them, and if anything they would prefer that we "validate" their
patent by licensing it, and thus giving precedent, than fighting it with
prior art. They certainly know we are not going to *pay* for a license.

Who knows, if we're lucky enough we can get a whole raft of exemptions
for Free software, and set a precedent that microsoft may be hard-
pressed to ignore while they are having anti-trust problems. IBM seems
like the best place to start; get a legal exemption for Free software
from a company who "gets it", and who is looked on as a leader in
technology and Linux. Given their large patent portfolio, and open
strategy, IBM certainly has the least to lose, and a fair amount to gain
from such a move.

Surely there is someone at Apple, or other companies that we can talk
to? Surely its better to ask and get a proper response, than to guess
what the response will be. Has anyone at least tried it?? I have no
problem ringing people up to solicit their help, but I hardly am an
industry insider like some of your GNOME foundation members. Is this an
area where the foundation should be showing some leadership?

Cheers,
Ryan