We learned from Java and Google that you can't patent and API. It's not forked from React it's an alternative.
The most likely thing for Facebook to patent is the concept of a virtual DOM that's diffed to apply updates to the real DOM. IF they have such a patent (and apparently they don't), then any library that has a vdom implementation infringes, including Preact.
Of course, if they DON'T have such a patent (which seems to be the case), then Preact is safe, but so is React. :)
This would cause mass alienation in the community for little gain, and force many previously neutral parties to align against them for attacking a completely separate project.
And for little damage as well....
If we rewrote our sites to use React coming from Backbone, JQuery and Angular... it won't be too much of a hardship to rewrite our sites to no longer use React in the future. Heck considering the 5-year churn of JS frameworks, I'm already penciling in the rise of a new framework in 2022.
It would likely be a company suing FB for infringing a patent who happens to also use Preact in a site. FB presumably wouldn't have access to the site source code (pre-suit), but would be looking at the compiled, minified public site. I don't know how Preact and React look when compiled compared to each other, but given their similar structures it might be hard to tell them apart. FB would identify the offending bits of code or code structure. They wouldn't need to even use the word "Preact" (or "React") in the suit.
If the underlying suit was a patent troll suing FB, FB's use of React patent clause might actually be celebrated in a enemy-of-my-enemy kind of way by the broader developer community.
It would require FB to finally disclose the patent numbers applicable to React. I've spent a few hours attempted to review FB's patents to find anything related to React technology, but it's a needle in a haystack challenge and I failed. There are tens of thousands of patents and impossible to know what keywords to search for. (If someone else has done this work, would be great!)
Why? Why is the API relevant at all?
The implication is if you use react now you give away rights.
The same is not true for angular, vue or mithril. Some argue if you use vdom there might be issue. But at least with those you/your dev is not giving away rights willingly...
But come to think of it; That is the way fb started :/
The patent grant from FB grants you strictly more rights than BSD alone (though admittedly, you could lose those extra rights).
Not at all.
It's been discussed a ton, the plain language of the license makes that clear, Facebook even covered this in their official React license FAQ (https://code.facebook.com/pages/850928938376556).
Please stop spreading FUD.
>> Does the additional patent grant in the Facebook BSD+Patents license terminate if I sue Facebook for something other than patent infringement?
> No.
>> Does the additional patent grant in the Facebook BSD+Patents license terminate if Facebook sues me for patent infringement first, and then I respond with a patent counterclaim against Facebook?
> No, unless your patent counterclaim is related to Facebook's software licensed under the Facebook BSD+Patents license.
My interpretation of that is if I use React I can't sue Facebook for any patent violations lest they pull their React patent licenses and immediately sue me for infringement.
Of what? Patents are public; link me the patent you think they'd sue you for infringing. :)
If they really want to crush little ol' me, I'm sure their legal team can find something in their existing patent warchest that would apply to React.
Plus we don't know if they have applied for patents that would apply to React that are still under review.
Yes, but also to your non-React code, right?
Like...seriously, what patent do you think they might have that somehow only applies to React and not all the other modern frameworks that have been busily copying React?
> No.
In short, if you get into a patent dispute with them, your license to use React does not terminate.
So when someone says "if you sue you will lose your rights to use react" this is wrong. My rights to use React come from the BSD license, not from the patent grant.
It's not so much they're "digging in" in the face of criticism, as they simply haven't noticed the criticism, because it has no relevance to Facebook at the level where corporate policy is set. Or so I believe. :)
I disagree. There are clearly a lot of people who evangelize React and other open source projects. It helps a lot with recruitment and Facebook's public relations among devs. I just don't think the attorneys grasp how much this is affecting other parts of the company.
I don't want a non-standard license... It's just more complexity we don't need.
Make it LGPLv3 or something if you want a patent clause, don't invent your own.
The patent issue is really not a big deal with React; the real concern is philosophical.
They won on a fair use claim. And that win is still subject to an ongoing appeal.
did we? I think the jury is still out on this, i.e. we had one verdict for google, one for oracle, one for google again, and now there's another appeal.