Are Software Patent Self-Exams Realistic?
How much time and money should a software company invest to ensure that its products do not infringe on registered software patents?
The question comes to mind after Microsoft accused the open-source industry of violating 235 Microsoft patents. Microsoft released the total but did not specify the infringed-upon patents. Some accuse Microsoft of using this strong-arm tactic to force open source companies to negotiate an intellectual property agreement similar to the Microsoft/Novell Linux agreement in 2006.