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The Wall Road Journal is reporting that a group of open-source backers is poised to purchase 22 graphics patents previously the home of Microsoft.The patents in question seem to consist of some or all the 3D-graphics-related ones that Microsoft purchased from SGI in 2002. Microsoft sold these patents earlier this year to a third-party patent broker, Allied Protection Believe in (AST). The Journal reported on September 8 that AST is selling the patents towards the Open Creation Network (OIN), a group of firms which includes IBM, Novell,Genuine Windows 7, Red Hat and Sony. The gist of the Journal;s story is OIN members desire to buy the graphics patents to head off prospective patent trolls who could possibly be thinking about acquiring them to use against open-source vendors.I;ve asked OIN,Office 2007 Standard Key, AST and Microsoft for far more specifics and also have however to listen to back again from any of them.Update: Microsoft responded Tuesday afternoon. Spokesperson Michael Marinello sent the subsequent statement:“We marketed 22 patents to AST in July 2009. The terms were confidential. We acquired these patents several years ago as part of a larger business agreement with SGI.“We are constantly evaluating our patent portfolio – which recently received top ranking in the software industry — to ensure its makeup fits into the business goals of the organization. These patents were deemed to be non-core to our business and non-essential for our IP portfolio. When an interested buyer for this technology was identified, after discussing it both internally and using the possible buyer, we felt this was the right direction to go in relating to these specific patents.”Marinello advised me to get in touch with AST, as they own the patents now. I still have not heard back again from AST or OIN. But OIN issued a press release at 4 pm ET today confirming that it purchased the 22 patents from AST, but offering no extra info or details — not even a confirmation that the patents “read on Linux.” “To date, the Trust (AST) has invested $40 million in patent purchases over its 30 months of operations,” the release said.The original WSJ tale leaves me with extra than a few questions: Lately, Linux vendors have been steeling themselves in opposition to the possibility of Microsoft pursuing them for alleged patent violations. But in this case — since Microsoft offered these patents — who were the OIN members worried about? Which trolls were lurking?The Journal cites an OIN official claiming that Microsoft presented the graphics patents as being “Linux-related” when it auctioned them off previously this yr. (Microsoft did not confirm this characterization in the Journal;s tale.) If the patents really are Linux-related, I;d think Microsoft would have wanted to hold onto them, to give the company a leg up against its Linux competitors,Office 2010 Discount, rather than sell the patents off,Cheap Office 2007, claiming they weren;t germane to Microsoft;s core business.What, exactly, do these 22 patents cover? Back in January 2002, The Register reported that Microsoft paid $63 million for SGI;s graphics patent portfolio. In July of that same year, Microsoft was rattling the patent sabers over OpenGL. Microsoft officials said they had “attainable claims” on a technology called vertex programming,Windows 7 Keygen, a technology that controls 3D effects like lighting. A ZDNet tale from that time noted that “The claims caused some consternation within the OpenGL Architectural Review Board (ARB), which governs the specification.” Anything else about this transaction of interest to you (in case I do get to talk to any with the parties in query later today)?