What is the consequence of using an open-source license without patent release? Does that mean that if your employer open-sourced some software that contained patented IP, then people must obtain a license from your employer?
And what happens in the reverse situation, where a third-party contributor commits code that contains patent-protected IP?
Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. No warranties expressed or implied. "as is" -- use at your own risk.
My employer has over 3800 active US patents and 3600 active foreign patents. I just hack code in the library, and I like to share it. As far as I know, none of the code I write is based on any patented IP -- but who is to say some professor on one of our campuses isn't doing research that somehow relates to what I'm working on in some way that could potentially infringe?
The projects I work on that are Copyright my employer don't usually have third party commits; under BSD they retain copyright to their contribution and I guess we accept it "AS IS/NO WARRANTIES". but even under apache license 2.0 or educational community license 2.0 someone can't license rights they don't have. There is always a risk that a "forth" party might make a claim that the third party contribution is infringing the forth party's patent.
(views are my own and do not represent my employer)
And what happens in the reverse situation, where a third-party contributor commits code that contains patent-protected IP?