Open source app server company expands IP coverage JBoss last week strengthened its indemnification against IP (intellectual property)-related claims.The open source software company will take three steps to improve coverage for users of its middleware products, including JBoss Application Server, JBoss Cache, and the company’s Hibernate object-relational mapping software. The first step involves defending customers in the event that complaints are lodged pertaining to infringement of copyright or patents.“Those are areas that are of concern to large enterprise customers,” said Brad Murdoch, vice president of services at JBoss. Copyright infringement has been at the heart of SCO’s litigation against IBM, he said. The second part of JBoss’ plan is to repair and replace infringing code on an unlimited basis. In the third step, JBoss will provide damage coverage of as much as four times the value of a customer’s support contract, based on JBoss’ Gold and Platinum support levels. Gold support, for one, starts at $15,000 a year.Previously, JBoss limited coverage for defense, damage, repair, and replacement to the value of a customer’s contract.Providing indemnification reduces the burden customers would entail by buying coverage from third-party open source risk management vendors, said Laura DiDio, senior analyst at Yankee Group. Indemnification is “such a big issue because we live in a litigious society, No. 1, and No. 2 anybody [who] gets sued, regardless of the outcome of the case, [loses],” DiDio said, citing the cost of litigation customers face. Software DevelopmentTechnology IndustrySmall and Medium Business