Cloud computing raises risk of patent litigation, attorney says

Unresolved legal questions surround cloud services

Out of all the security concerns related to cloud computing, here's one you might not have considered: Customers using cloud services may put themselves at risk of patent litigation.

It may be a small risk, but it is another issue to consider when assessing the pros and cons of cloud computing, says Nolan Goldberg, a patent and trade secret litigation attorney for Proskauer Rose LLP in New York.

FAQ: Cloud computing, demystified

"I think IP [intellectual property] is going to be a huge barrier to cloud adoption," Goldberg said. "Using a cloud service creates a different risk profile than using a non-cloud version of the same service."

The court system is clogged with frivolous patent lawsuits, and customers who use a service that allegedly infringes on a patent could be sued through no fault of their own, said Goldberg, a speaker at the Interop Las Vegas trade show. Plaintiffs often go after customers in cases where a physical product may violate a patent, and the same litigation method could be used in the world of cloud computing, he said.

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Source: networkworld.com
By: Jon Brodkin