WAVE Patent platform

Google is using an interesting patent system to ensure the open-source nature of its WAVE platform. According to the FAQ, "The technology behind Google Wave is licensed under a liberal patent license to help implementers and contributors be comfortable implementing the protocol."

Patent License

Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, Google and its affiliates hereby grant to you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable (except as stated in this License) patent license for patents necessarily infringed by implementation of this specification. If you institute patent litigation against any entity (including a cross-claim or counterclaim in a lawsuit) alleging that the implementation of the specification constitutes direct or contributory patent infringement, then any patent licenses for the specification granted to you under this License shall terminate as of the date such litigation is filed.

Open_Sailing is open source. Our principals are similar to WAVE - we want as many people as possible to be able to contribute to the system, and benefit from it. We've been looking at open source software (licensed under General Public License), Creative Commons and Copyleft.

Maybe we should investigate a similar stance to Google WAVE as a legal standpoint? (Plus, the 'WAVE" name ties in with Open_Sailing nicely, don't you think?!)

Any thoughts?

Google WAVE Protocol
Protocol license