At the end of March, Linux-Watch was publishing the news that Oracle has joined the Open Invention Network (OIN):
OIN members — which currently include IBM, NEC, Novell, Philips, Red Hat, and Sony — agree to assign software patents that might affect Linux to the OIN. These patents can then be used by anyone in Linux without having to pay any royalty fees or having to worry about future law suits.
"We are very pleased to have Oracle become a licensee of Open Invention Network's patents," said Jerry Rosenthal, OIN's CEO, and former IBM's VP of intellectual property and licensing business, in a statement. "Oracle is the global leader in enterprise software. It is a prime example of forward-thinking companies that understand the value inherent in the openness and collaborative culture of the Linux community. OIN has and will continue to acquire intellectual property that will protect Linux developers, distributors and users, today and years into the future."
A good question for OIN would be to ask them how they plan to protect the Linux project in case of an attack made by a troll company. This "Maginot Line" strategy of building a defensive patent portfolio is not probably going to work in that case.