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This is a positive idea, but I think it should be done somewhat differently. I'm not sure the size of the company is the main factor. Instead, I would like to see something like

> No use of software patents against open source code

Companies could then protect themselves from patent lawsuits by open sourcing their code, which makes sense since everyone benefits from open source code.

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>which makes sense since everyone benefits from open source code.

Companies (and people in general the last 30 years) have not concerned themselves with doing things to benefit everyone. I'm sure open sourcing code would be better overall, but I don't see that happening with most major software.

Corporations are legally required to act in the best interest of their shareholders. If something benefits the company at the expense of humanity, they are required to act against the best interests of humanity.

Companies could then protect themselves from patent lawsuits by open sourcing their code

How?

He's saying that _if_ the agreement was "no first-use patent lawsuits against companies who have open sourced their code," and _if_ that agreement was held to, _then_ those companies who open-sourced their code would be protected.

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