CAMPBELL, Calif. -- Barracuda Networks Inc., the worldwide leader in email and Web security appliances, today announced it plans to defend itself, the open source community and the free and open source Clam AntiVirus software from a patent threat by Trend Micro. Barracuda Networks’ decision to take action comes after repeated requests from Trend Micro demanding Barracuda Networks remove ClamAV from its products or pay a patent license fee.

“Trend Micro’s actions illustrate that ClamAV and other open source projects remain vulnerable to commercial patent holders attempting to unjustly hinder the free and open source community,” said Dean Drako, president and CEO of Barracuda Networks. “Trend Micro appears to be seeking an interpretation of its ‘600 patent such that it would have exclusive control of gateway antivirus scanning. Scanning for viruses at the gateway is an obvious and common technique that is utilized by most businesses worldwide. So this interpretation would mean that anyone, including the owners of the more than one million active ClamAV installations, could potentially be sued by Trend Micro.”

Barracuda Networks Inc.