3 ms·

WordPress Abandons React Due to Patents Clause

40 points by sebg 9y ago

michaelangerman 9y ago
Too bad about this...
nikisweeting 9y ago
Why not just use Inferno (which is MIT licensed), or Preact? Inferno has 1:1 feature parity with React, and is significantly faster. With react-compat it can even masquerade as React entirely, allowing people to use the React docs to learn and develop with it.
- shams93 9y ago
  Inferno is awesome I'm working on a project with webmidi and inferno there is no shim for webmidi fir react native so infernos speed is key for me.
- Gaelan 9y ago
  Any patents that cover React are likely to describe VDom in genereal, which means there is little reason to believe those are much safer.
- hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
  If the issue is patents, not copyright, moving to Preact isn't going to make you any safer.
  - chrisco255 9y ago
    Then neither is any front end lib that could be violating broadly defined patents.
- maximus999 9y ago
  anyone join now https://infernojs.slack.com https://infernojs.slack.com but currently the founder hired by facebook lol what we gonna do :(
grizzles 9y ago
Anyone know which are the patents in question? Reactjs was released in 2013. I just did a quick search for a few plausible keywords on Google Scholar, and it revealed nothing. It would be nice if Facebook would come clean as to which of the patents that they would claim cover React.
- _-david-_ 9y ago
  Its not just patents in React. Its patents in "any software, technology, product or service of Facebook or any of its subsidiaries or corporate affiliates" https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/master/PATENTS https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/master/PATENTS
  - tzs 9y ago
    There's three sets of patents mentioned in the license. First, there is the set of patents that Facebook is licensing to you. I'll call this set "the React patents". Second, there is the set of patents that someone might sue Facebook over, alleging that Facebook has infringed. If you are involved in such a suit you lose your license to the React patents. Third, there is the set of patents that someone might sue someone else over, alleging infringement, and for which that alleged infringement arose at least partially from "any software, technology, product or service of Facebook or any of its subsidiaries or corporate affiliates". If you are involved in such a suit you lose your license to the React patents. I'll call the union of the second and third sets "the triggering patents", because suing over them can trigger loss of of your license to the React patents. The part you quote is referring to patents in that third set, which are triggering patents, not React patents. Facebook has stated that termination of the patent license does NOT terminate your copyright license [1]. The question grizzles asked about what Facebook patents cover React is interesting and important because if it turns out that the React patent set is empty then you don't actually need a React patent license from Facebook. All you need in that case is the copyright license. I've not heard of anyone finding any React patents, but that doesn't mean there could not be some applications pending from Facebook that would cover React. It used to be that a good patent attorney or agent could keep a patent application delayed and secret a very long time so that there was no way in general to tell if something was safe. I vaguely recall that there were changes to US patent law that made that a lot harder, but I'm not sure if they completely made it impossible, so I'm not sure that we can ever be sure that we don't actually need the patent license. [1] https://code.facebook.com/pages/850928938376556 https://code.facebook.com/pages/850928938376556
MVorlm 9y ago
As an aside, there's a 'try-vue' now. https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/tree/try/vue https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/tree/try/vue

40 points by sebg 9y ago

Too bad about this...

Why not just use Inferno (which is MIT licensed), or Preact? Inferno has 1:1 feature parity with React, and is significantly faster. With react-compat it can even masquerade as React entirely, allowing people to use the React docs to learn and develop with it.

shams93 9y ago
Inferno is awesome I'm working on a project with webmidi and inferno there is no shim for webmidi fir react native so infernos speed is key for me.
Gaelan 9y ago
Any patents that cover React are likely to describe VDom in genereal, which means there is little reason to believe those are much safer.
hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
If the issue is patents, not copyright, moving to Preact isn't going to make you any safer.
- chrisco255 9y ago
  Then neither is any front end lib that could be violating broadly defined patents.
maximus999 9y ago
anyone join now https://infernojs.slack.com https://infernojs.slack.com but currently the founder hired by facebook lol what we gonna do :(

grizzles 9y ago

Anyone know which are the patents in question? Reactjs was released in 2013. I just did a quick search for a few plausible keywords on Google Scholar, and it revealed nothing. It would be nice if Facebook would come clean as to which of the patents that they would claim cover React.

_-david-_ 9y ago
Its not just patents in React. Its patents in "any software, technology, product or service of Facebook or any of its subsidiaries or corporate affiliates" https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/master/PATENTS https://github.com/facebook/react/blob/master/PATENTS
- tzs 9y ago
  There's three sets of patents mentioned in the license. First, there is the set of patents that Facebook is licensing to you. I'll call this set "the React patents". Second, there is the set of patents that someone might sue Facebook over, alleging that Facebook has infringed. If you are involved in such a suit you lose your license to the React patents. Third, there is the set of patents that someone might sue someone else over, alleging infringement, and for which that alleged infringement arose at least partially from "any software, technology, product or service of Facebook or any of its subsidiaries or corporate affiliates". If you are involved in such a suit you lose your license to the React patents. I'll call the union of the second and third sets "the triggering patents", because suing over them can trigger loss of of your license to the React patents. The part you quote is referring to patents in that third set, which are triggering patents, not React patents. Facebook has stated that termination of the patent license does NOT terminate your copyright license [1]. The question grizzles asked about what Facebook patents cover React is interesting and important because if it turns out that the React patent set is empty then you don't actually need a React patent license from Facebook. All you need in that case is the copyright license. I've not heard of anyone finding any React patents, but that doesn't mean there could not be some applications pending from Facebook that would cover React. It used to be that a good patent attorney or agent could keep a patent application delayed and secret a very long time so that there was no way in general to tell if something was safe. I vaguely recall that there were changes to US patent law that made that a lot harder, but I'm not sure if they completely made it impossible, so I'm not sure that we can ever be sure that we don't actually need the patent license. [1] https://code.facebook.com/pages/850928938376556 https://code.facebook.com/pages/850928938376556

MVorlm 9y ago

As an aside, there's a 'try-vue' now. https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/tree/try/vue https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/tree/try/vue