"Billary/2008" <F#%K_Liberals@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
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> "3396 Dead" <22113396Dead@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
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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
>> friendE-mailView this story formatted for printingPrint Add to your
>> del.icio.usdel.icio.us Digg this storyDigg this
>> 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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>> Extra: Online radio remixes the future of music
>>
>> 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.
Billary, try pulling your head out of your ass at least once a month...
Linux's kernel is based upon open-source codebases dating back to the
early
days of UNIX. The user interface runs on top of the open-sourced
X-windows
system. These codebases were in use before the earliest version of
Windows,
which was developed *in response to* the X-windows and the [then dominant]
Macintosh operating system. It was Microsoft that copied its features and
GUI design from Apple (who copied it from Xerox PARC in the late 1970's),
not the other way around.
Since the open source movement is very strict about only using open
sourced
codebases, and since another company (SCO) has already attempted to sue
Linux out of existence - and failed miserably - I don't think anybody is
too
worried about Microsoft. If they're smart, they'll co-opt Linux (embrace
and extend) rather than attempt to sue it out of existence (which will
fail). They're likely attempting a multi-pronged attack.
It its infamous lawsuit, SCO claimed that it had evidence of significant
patent infringement in the Linux codebase. As it turned out, they were
lying. They had nothing. Nada. Zilch. The case was thrown out - but not
until their stock had soared many months, making the execs and their
lawyers
very rich. MSFT is very likely attempting a more expensive version of the
SCO gambit: Spew massive FUD all over the headlines, drag the case out
for
a couple of years, watch your stock climb as you threaten large Linux
shops
(especially recent converts) with crippling lawsuits should they continue
to
resist Microsoft's expensive, bloated, insecure, bug-ridden, proprietary
products. Typical monopolist tactics.
There's a reason that Microsoft has been likened to the alient "Borg" from
Star Trek. Resistance is futile.
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