"3396 Dead" <22113396Dead@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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http://www.rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.com.com%2FRe****t%2BMicrosoft%2Bsays%2Bopen%2Bsource%2Bviolates%2B235%2Bpatents%2F2100-1014_3-6183437.html
>
> Re****t: Microsoft says open source violates 235 patents
> Top Microsoft lawyer alleges in a magazine interview that the Linux
kernel
> and OpenOffice.org violate hundreds of the company's patents.
> By Ina Friedand Stephen Shankland
> Staff Writer, CNET News.com
> Published: May 13, 2007, 7:35 PM PDT
> Last modified: May 13, 2007, 8:30 PM PDT
> Tell us what you think about this storyTalkBackE-mail this story to a
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> Re****t: Microsoft says open source violates 235 patents
>
> update Microsoft claims that free and open-source software violates 235
of
> its patents, according to a magazine re****t published Sunday.
>
> In an interview with Fortune, Microsoft top lawyer Brad Smith alleges
that
> the Linux kernel violates 42 Microsoft patents, while its user interface
> and other design elements infringe on a further 65. OpenOffice.org is
> accused of infringing 45, along with 83 more in other free and
open-source
> programs, according to Fortune.
>
> It is not entirely clear how Microsoft might proceed in enforcing these
> patents, but the company has been encouraging large tech companies that
> depend on Linux to ink patent deals, starting with its controversial
pact
> with Novell last November. Microsoft has also cited Linux protection
> playing a role in recent patent swap deals with Samsung and Fuji Xerox.
> Microsoft has also had discussions but not reached a deal with Red Hat,
as
> noted in the Fortune article.
>
> Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is also quoted in the article as saying
> Microsoft's open-source competitors need to "play by the same rules as
the
> rest of the business."
>
> "What's fair is fair," Ballmer told Fortune. "We live in a world where
we
> honor, and sup****t the honoring of, intellectual property."
>
> The story notes that some big tech proponents of open source have been
> stockpiling intellectual property as part of the Open Invention Network,
> set up in 2005 by folks like Sony, Red Hat, IBM, NEC and Philips. The
> article surmises that if Microsoft were to go after open source, these
> companies' combined know-how might give it some patent weapons to go
after
> Windows.
>
> A Microsoft representative did not immediately respond to an e-mail
> seeking comment.
>
> Given how deeply entrenched open-source software has become in the
> computing industry, taking direct legal action against the open-source
> realm would be a complicated, hackle-raising undertaking for Microsoft.
> Customers use open-source software widely, and many major computing
> companies--IBM, Dell, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and
> Oracle, for example--sup****t Linux work directly.
>
> It's not the first time that open-source patent concerns have arisen. A
> 2004 study by a Open Source Risk Management, a company selling insurance
> against risks of using open-source software, concluded that Linux could
> violate at least 283 patents, 27 of them Microsoft patents.
>
> Patents and the open-source movement get along awkwardly at best. Patent
> law gives proprietary, exclusive rights to patent holders, but
open-source
> programming is built on the idea of free sharing. Newer open-source
> licenses sometimes address the issue by requiring contributors to
> open-source projects to grant users and developers of the software a
> perpetual, royalty-free license to any patents that relate to the
> contribution.
> Now on News.com
> Re****t: Microsoft says open source violates 235 patents Most hated
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>
> Different companies have dealt in different ways with the open-source
> patent conundrum. For example, HP has taken a pro-patent stance, while
> IBM, Nokia, Sun and others have granted some rights to use some of their
> patents in open-source software.
>
> The Open Invention Network remains a relatively young effort, but it has
> attracted participation this year from proprietary software giant Oracle
> and from Linux sup****t seller Canonical. A company may license the
> network's patents for free as long as they promise not to assert any
> patent claims against those involved in the "Linux environment."
>
> The Free Software Foundation is working on a new draft of the General
> Public License, one element of which will ban partner****ps such as the
one
> struck by Novell and Microsoft.
The Linux geeks love to bash MSFT. Yet they love to copy the features and
funtionality of MSFT products. They only wish they had a product half as
powerful and feature rich as MSFT has. The Linux geeks are nothing but a
bunch of thieves intent on destroying the rights of intellectual property
owners.
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