Yesterday, Alan Cox, Linux kernel guru and second-in-command to Linux creator Linus Torvalds until a few years ago, was reported to have filed an application for a series of patents for digital rights management (DRM).

Today, Torvalds, who is at present in Sydney, is reported as dismissing digital rights management and the third version of the General Public License (GPLv3) as not being a "big deal". I'll deal with this later.

Cox's patent application specifies that what is being sought is ownership of technology used to enforce DRM in software. It defines the practice as under:

"A rights management system monitors and controls use of a computer program to prevent use that is not in compliance with acceptable terms. The system monitors usage of the computer program for usage and activities that are not in compliance with the license or other use terms. Upon detection of a violation of these terms, state information pertaining to the computer program is saved and operation of the computer program and/or a portion of the computer system is suspended. The system maintains the suspension for as long as the violation exists. Once compliance has been reestablished, the suspension is terminated."

Given that Red Hat, Cox's employer, is bearing the costs associated with the patent application process, it has been assumed that if the patent is granted, then it would be used in accordance with the company's existing patent policy. After wading through all the legalese, it appears that any patents the company owns will be used to defend developers of free and open source software in the event that they come under legal attack. Additionally, the policy indicates that Red Hat's patents can be used freely in FOSS projects under the General Public License.