Patently Obvious - The year that lawyers came to FOSS
summary
August 2019 lawsuit alleges that Shotwell infringes a broad imaging patent filed by Rothschild Patent Imaging (Lee Rothschild), prompting a legal defense that uncovers prior art, an existing distributor license, and rapid community fundraising (~$150k from ~5,000 people). Pro bono representation by Shearman & Sterling secures a settlement with no payment and a covenant not to sue covering 100+ patents that binds Rothschild personally and future transfers; key tactics include filing counterclaims, seeking invalidity, and using the OIN to locate prior art. Shotwell photo manager and Shearman & Sterling pro bono
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chapters (8)
- 0:00Introduction
- 5:13Background
- 7:45Initial Response
- 10:08The Patent
- 11:38The Response
- 16:24The Settlement
- 20:01Going Public
- 24:20Court Cases
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