We here at fourstarters seem to care somewhat about OpenID.

Looks like OpenID developers don’t have to worry about potential patent problems in the near future: sun microsystems has pledged to never use their patent portfolio against any sort of OpenID usage, except against companies that use their portfolio to stifle OpenID. That last one is actually the good news: It means any company that tries to muck up OpenID by trying patent shenanigans has to contend with the idea that sun will start a patent battle. I don’t know if sun even has patents that matter, but I doubt this is relevant: So long as the company has a nice patent portfolio, enough money to pay a law firm, and the economic clout to make it stick, you can sue. It’s one of the reasons every tech professional I know is vehemently anti-patent.

While google might be best known for it, I really like this brave new world, where certain companies have taken the do no evil directive to heart. I guess Sun is aware that the real in-the-trenches techies eventually make decisions on which server hardware to buy, and thus they better get on our good side.

Sun’s “covenant” on patents and OpenID.

A FAQ on the covenant.

(via TheServerSide.com)