The search engine announced its Open Patent Non-Assertion (OPN) Pledge in March. At the time, Google offered 10 of its own patents related to MapReduce, a programming model for processing large data sets which is central to the open source Hadoop framework. The search engine is also encouraging other patent owners to take the pledge.
This week, Google expanded the patents it is offering under the programme to include 79 patents covering data centre management.
Google said the pledge is an effort to reduce patent threats to open-source software (OSS). “It is a response to recent developments in the patent marketplace, whereby companies that increasingly seek the benefits of OSS in their own businesses nonetheless launch attacks against open source products and platforms as it suits their fancy,” the company said in a statement.
Under the programme, patent owners decide which patents they wish to pledge and promise they will only terminate the pledge defensively in response to incoming patent attacks. The promise lasts for the life of the patents, even if they are sold or transferred to another owner.
