Anna Haapanen FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE LICENSING AND THE MYSTERY OF LICENSOR'S PATENTS Haapanen, Anna: Free and Open Source Software Licensing and the Mystery of Licensor's Patents Anna Haapanen FREE AND OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE LICENSING and the Mystery of Licensor's Patents Doctoral dissertation to be presented for public examination, by due permission of the Faculty of Law at the University of Helsinki, in Porthania Hall III on April 1, 2017 at 10 a.m. 1 Haapanen, Anna: Free and Open Source Software Licensing and the Mystery of Licensor's Patents Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ 4 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 5 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 6 1.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................ 6 1.1.1 Concepts .......................................................................................... 6 1.1.2 Brief History of FOSS ..................................................................... 12 1.1.3 FOSS Today .................................................................................... 14 1.1.4 Construction of FOSS Licenses ...................................................... 16 1.1.5 FOSS and Patents ........................................................................... 22 1.1.6 Current Status of Research ............................................................. 27 1.2 METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF LEGAL SCIENCES ..... 28 1.2.1 Legal Research in Europe and the US ........................................... 28 1.2.2 Sources of Law in Europe and the US ............................................ 33 1.3 AIMS OF THE STUDY ............................................................................... 38 1.3.1 Research Questions ........................................................................ 38 1.3.2 Illustration of the Research Questions ........................................... 39 1.3.3 Hypothesis to the Research Questions ........................................... 41 1.4 LIMITATIONS............................................................................................. 41 1.5 METHODS OF THE STUDY ...................................................................... 42 1.6 MATERIALS ............................................................................................... 48 1.7 DISPOSITION .............................................................................................. 49 2. FOSS AND OVERLAPPING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS ..... 51 2.1 COPYRIGHT PROTECTION OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS .................. 51 2.1.1 Emergence of Copyright Protection for Computer Programs ....... 51 2.1.2 Software Copyrights in Europe ...................................................... 54 2.1.3 Software Copyrights in the US ....................................................... 61 2.2 PATENT PROTECTION OF COMPUTER PROGRAMS ......................... 68 2.2.1 Emergence of Patent Protection for Computer Programs ............. 68 2.2.2 Software Patents in Europe ............................................................ 72 2.2.3 Software Patents in the US ............................................................. 79 3. FOSS LICENSING .............................................................................................. 86 3.1 ELEMENTS OF FOSS LICENSES ............................................................. 86 3.1.1 FOSS Licenses as Standard Terms ................................................. 86 3.1.2 Acceptance of License vs. Conclusion of Contract ........................ 88 3.1.3 Enforcement of FOSS Licenses ...................................................... 96 3.2 FOSS DISPUTES AND APPLICABLE LAW ............................................ 99 3.2.1 Choice of Law and Jurisdiction in FOSS Licenses ........................ 99 3.2.2 Forum of FOSS Disputes in Europe ............................................. 101 3.2.3 Forum of FOSS Disputes in the US .............................................. 106 4. FOSS AND PATENT EXHAUSTION ............................................................. 110 4.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE DOCTRINE .................................................. 110 4.1.1 Patent Exhaustion in Europe ........................................................ 110 4.1.2 Patent Exhaustion in the US ......................................................... 138 4.1.3 Comparison of the Exhaustion Doctrines..................................... 157 2 Haapanen, Anna: Free and Open Source Software Licensing and the Mystery of Licensor's Patents 4.2 PATENT EXHAUSTION IN CONTEXT OF FOSS ................................. 163 4.2.1 Preconditions for Patent Exhaustion of FOSS ............................. 163 4.2.1.1 Overview ...................................................................................... 163 4.2.1.2 Sale of FOSS ................................................................................. 167 4.2.1.3 Unconditional Sale ....................................................................... 179 4.2.1.4 Reward ...................................................................................... 182 4.2.1.3 Authorization of the Patent Holder .............................................. 184 4.2.1.6 Territoriality of Exhaustion .......................................................... 186 4.2.1.7 Analysis of the Findings ............................................................... 186 4.2.2 Impact of Patent Exhaustion on Use of FOSS .............................. 188 4.2.2.1 Overview ...................................................................................... 188 4.2.2.2 Exclusive Rights Subject to Exhaustion ........................................ 189 4.2.2.3 Exclusive Rights Retained by the Patent Holder .......................... 191 4.2.2.4 Analysis of the Findings ............................................................... 193 5. FOSS AND IMPLIED PATENT LICENSE .................................................... 197 5.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE DOCTRINE .................................................. 197 5.1.1 Implied Patent License in the US ................................................. 197 5.1.2 Implied Patent License in North Europe and Finland Specifically ................................................................................... 204 5.1.3 Comparison of the Implied Patent License Theories ................... 228 5.2 IMPLIED PATENT LICENSE IN CONTEXT OF FOSS ......................... 230 5.2.1 Preconditions for Implied Patent License under FOSS ............... 230 5.2.1.1 Overview ...................................................................................... 230 5.2.1.2 Wordings of the FOSS Licenses ................................................... 232 5.2.1.3 Intentions of the Parties................................................................ 242 5.2.1.4 Conduct and Communications of the FOSS Licensor .................. 244 5.2.1.5 Reliance on the FOSS Licensor's Conduct ................................... 249 5.2.1.6 Harm to FOSS Licensee ............................................................... 253 5.2.1.7 Other Estoppel Theories ............................................................... 255 5.2.1.8 Disclaiming Implied Patent Rights ............................................... 258 5.2.1.9 Analysis of the Findings ............................................................... 259 5.2.2 Impact of Implied Patent License on Use of FOSS ...................... 263 5.2.2.1 Overview ...................................................................................... 263 5.2.2.3 Licensor of Implied Rights............................................................ 269 5.2.2.4 Recipient of Implied Rights .......................................................... 272 5.2.2.5 Licensed Version .......................................................................... 273 5.2.2.6 Scope of Patent Claims ................................................................. 278 5.2.2.7 Compensation Payable for Implied Rights ................................... 279 5.2.2.8 Analysis of the Findings ............................................................... 280 6. DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS .................................................................. 285 6.1 IMPACT OF PATENTS ON USE OF FOSS ............................................ 285 6.2 IMPACT OF FOSS ON USE OF PATENTS ............................................ 286 6.3 PATENT LICENSE ECOSYSTEM IN THE FOSS COMMUNITY ........ 289 6.4 JURISDICTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS ................................................ 290 6.5 FINAL REMARKS .................................................................................... 292 7. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................ 294 3 Haapanen, Anna: Free and Open Source Software Licensing and the Mystery of Licensor's Patents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the following persons for their supervision, pre-examination, guidance, support, valuable comments or interesting and inspiring discussions during the "Project Code", the production of this work, whether in Finland, New York or California: Professor Rainer Oesch, University of Helsinki; professor Thomas Riis, University of Copenhagen; LL.D.