Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:45:28 +0000 From: "Robert N. M. Watson" <rwatson@FreeBSD.org> To: "Justin T. Gibbs" <gibbs@FreeBSDFoundation.org> Cc: board@FreeBSDFoundation.org, freebsd-hubs@FreeBSD.org, developers@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Google Chromium and Red Bend Ltd.'s alleged infringement of U.S. Patent # 6546552 Message-ID: <C3DF35BA-BEC0-4BC3-B1BE-69C4FA6499D9@FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <4B9803D4.2000603@FreeBSDFoundation.org> References: <4B9803D4.2000603@FreeBSDFoundation.org>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On Mar 10, 2010, at 8:40 PM, Justin T. Gibbs wrote:
> Late last week, the FreeBSD Foundation received a cease and desist =
letter
> from Red Bend Software. In summary, they request that the we cease =
any
> and all distribution of files that are claimed to infringe Red Bend's =
U.S.
> patent covering a compression scheme used in software updates. The =
letter
> lists as examples several versions of the Chromium distribution for =
Gentoo
> Linux that appear on a FreeBSD mirror site (ftp2.es.FreeBSD.org). =
I've
> attached a scan of the letter for your reference.
>=20
> This letter is mis-targeted for several reasons: the FreeBSD =
Foundation
> doesn't own or operate all of the machines in the FreeBSD mirror =
network
> and the software in question was not developed by or for us. Our =
response
> will say as much and I do not expect any further difficulty for the =
FreeBSD
> Foundation in this matter. However, I believe that Red Bend will =
quickly
> move on to contacting individual mirror sites that are hosting these =
files.
> For this reason, I urge mirror site administrators to become familiar =
with
> Red Bend's complaint, determine if your system is distributing =
allegedly
> infringing software, and then to decide the appropriate action for =
your
> circumstances.
>=20
> For developers, I know that some of you may be involved with or =
considering
> work on Chromium. I urge you to also become familiar with this issue =
and
> take any necessary steps to protect yourself from liability or the =
risk
> of a costly (even if frivolous) lawsuit. Until this patent issue =
blows
> over, you should also consider the inclusion of Chromium in the =
FreeBSD
> ports tree, or in any other way into the standard FreeBSD =
distribution,
> as off limits.
As Justin's e-mail appears to have clogged the FreeBSD.org e-mail =
system, I've attached an OCR'd version of the letter. Reference should =
be made to the original scan for any matters of importance, as I cannot =
guaranteed the accuracy of the plain text rendition. Despite the fact =
that we believe this is a mis-targeted letter, we need to handle this =
legal matter with caution, due care, and professionalism.
Robert
---
Red Bend Software
Febmary 25, 2010
BY FEDERAL EXPRESS
Justin T. Gibbs
President, Board of Directors
The FreeBSD Foundation
P.O. Box 20247
Boulder, CO 80308
303-554-9620 p. 1
Re: Red Bend Lld.'s U.S. Patent No. 6,546,552
Dear Mr. Gibbs:
With concern and urgency, we write to advise you that the =
FreeBSD
website (www.freebsd.org), which is controlled and operated by The =
FreeBSD
Foundation(1), and specifically its use and/or distribution of Courgette
delta-update software derived from Google's Chromium open-source browser
project, infringes our U.S. Patent No. 6,546,552 (copy enclosed).
Consequently, we request that The FreeBSD Foundation immediately cease =
and
desist from using and inducing others' use of such infringing software, =
and
particularly that it cease provision and publication of the Courgette
delta-update software, including, but not limited to, the copies =
included in
these publicly-available files:
=95 =
http://ftp2.es.freebsd.org/gentoo/distfiles/chromium-4.0.249.43.tar.bz2
=95 =
http://ftp2.es.freebsd.org/gentoo/distfiles/chromium-4.0.251.0.tar.bz2
=95 =
bttp:/Iftp2.es.freebsd.org/gentoo/distfiles/chromium-4.0.260.0.tat.bz2
=95 =
http://ftp2.es.freebsd.org/gentoo/distfiles/chromium-4.0.266.0.tar.bz2
=95 =
bttp:l/ftp2.es.freebsd.org/gentoo/distfiles/chromium-4.0.288.1.tar.bz2
=95 =
hltp:/Iftp2.es.freebsd.org/gentoo/distfiles/chromium-4.0.295.0.tar.bz2
=95 =
http://ftp2.es.freebsd.org/gentoo/distfiles/chromium-4.0.302.2.tar.bz2
=95 =
htlp:l/ftp2.es.freebsd.org/gentoo/distfiles/chromium-4.0.302.3.tar.bz2
=95 =
http://ftp2.es.freebsd.orgtgentoo/distfiles/chromium-5.0.307.1.tar.bz2
=95 =
http://ftp2.es.freebsd.orgtgentoo/distfiles/chromium-5.0.307.5.tar.bz2
=95 =
http://ftp2.es.freebsd.org/gentoo/distfiles/chromium-5.0.307.7.tar.bz2
=95 =
http://ftp2.es.freebsd.org/gentoo/distfiles/chromium-S.O.307.9.tar.bz2
(1) http://www.freebsdfoundation.org/about.shtml
Red Bend Ltd. 4 Hacharash St., Neve Ne'eman B-IZ, Hod Hasharon 45240, =
Israel
Phone: +972-(0)9-761111 Fax: +972-(0)9-7611112 E-Mail: info@redbend.com
=95 =
http://ftp2.es.freebsd.org/gentoo/distfiles/chromium-5.0.322.2.tar.bz2
Although perhaps Unknown to you, Red Bend is the world's leading
provider of electronic software distribution technology designed to
dramatically reduce the size of software update files, accelerating =
delivery
to end-users, while using minimal bandwidth. Red Bend's patented
delta-update teclmology has been widely adopted in the market, and has =
been
used both in internet-delivered update environments (e.g. AOL's ICQ), =
and in
firmware over the air (FOTA) implementations. For example, Red Bend's =
FOTA
solution is used in more than 620 million mobile devices by eight of the =
top
10 handset manufiu:turers, including Nokia, Samsung, Kyocera, LG =
Electronics,
Motorola, Sharp, Sony Ericsson and ZTE, as well as dozens of other =
leading
companies in the mobile, M2M and WiMAX markets. Founded in 1999. Red =
Bend is
a privately held, venture capital-financed company with offices in =
China,
Israel, Japan, Korea, the U.K. and the U.S.
As I'm sure you appreciate, attaining this level of achievement =
has
not been easy or quick. We, over the last decade, have committed an =
enormous
amount of resources to our research and developmcot efforts, and to
protecting such efforts and our cutting-edge technology by, in part,
perfecting our intellectual property rights, including the patent =
identified
above, and various pending patent applications. We respect others'
intellectual property and we expect others -- especially an accomplished
company like The FreeBSD Foundation -- to respect ours. (In this =
regard, we
were forced to bring a lawsuit against Google for its use, posting and
distribution of Courgette; the case is now pending in Boston.)
We appreciate that The FreeBSD Foundation may need a few days to =
investigate
and consider our claim, but time is ofthe essence. We must act quickly =
to
eliminate any harm The FreeBSD Foundation's use and free distribution of =
our
technology will cause Red Bend. Therefore, we need to hear back from =
you
within the next five (5) business days. If you would like to schedule a
meeting to discuss the issues raised in this letter, please let me know.
Thank you for your expedited attention to this matter. I look forward =
to
hearing from you within the next few days.
Very truly yours,
Yoram Salinger
Red Bend Ltd. 4 Hacharash St., Neve Ne'eman B-IZ, Hod Hasharon 45240, =
Israel
Phone: +972-(0)9-761111 Fax: +972-(0)9-7611112 E-Mail: info@redbend.com
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?C3DF35BA-BEC0-4BC3-B1BE-69C4FA6499D9>