Red Hat Sued by Software Tree

Software Tree, a database company that develops object-relational mapping technologies, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Red Hat.  The suit alleges that Red Hat’s new Java-based server application, JBoss, infringes on one of Software Tree’s patents.  Software Tree is seeking unspecified damages, as well as an injunction to stop Red Hat from distributing the product.

As reported by Ars Technica, the infringed patent describes a “system and method for exchanging data and commands between an object oriented system and relational system.”  Software Tree claims that the patent was originally awarded in December 2000, and it was reexamined in April 2008 and was found to be valid and enforceable.

Red Hat acquired JBoss in 2006 for $350 million.  Software Tree contends that JBoss Hibernate, part of the JBoss platform, infringes on their patent. 

Red Hat is not new to database patent disputes, as it faced litigation last year with Firestar and DataTern.  Red Hat did eventually come to terms with the two companies, but one those agreements may come back to haunt them.  Red Hat cited the Software Tree patent as prior art during its lawsuit with Firestar.  Consequently, Software Tree is stating that Red Hat’s infringement on their patent was willful.

It is also worth noting that this current suit may be an extension of the ongoing Microsoft-Linux battle, as Software Tree is partnered with Microsoft, Borland, IBM and Sun.  In addition to naming Red Hat in the lawsuit, Software Tree has also named Hewlett Packard, Genuitec and Dell as defendants.

Red Hat and Microsoft Agree to Deal

Red Hat has announced that it will team up with Microsoft for computer virtualization.  According to the Nashville Business Journal, virtualization is a technology that allows companies to run multiple operating systems on a single server.  The agreement enables both companies to  join each other’s “validation/certification program” for virtualization.   

While many are familiar with Microsoft’s product, Windows, Red Hat is a provider of specialized forms of Linux.  Thus, this deal will provide technical support to those who wish to use both Windows and Linux on their servers.

Surprisingly absent from the deal are any patent licensing agreements.  Some believe this absence stems from a prior agreement that Microsoft reached with Novel, which is a key competitor with Red Hat.

This agreement may have come as a bit of a surprise for many in the industry.  The two companies have often clashed, as Microsoft has claimed in the past that Linux violates a number of its patents.  Red Hat, however, claims that software patents generally impede development.  Such differences are not surprising considering the fundamental differences between Linux and Microsoft.  Linux is open source software, in which code is shared by programmers around the world.  Microsoft, on the other hand, writes the code for Windows and keeps it private.