<milt.shook@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:1179175801.341332.29800@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> On May 14, 4:19 pm, "Billary/2008" <F#
> %K_Liber...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> "3396 Dead" <22113396D...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
>>
>> news:mL22i.4485$UU.103@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>http://www.rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.com....
>>
>> > 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
>> > blogger
>> > on the planet? Photos: Engineering lessons learned from Katrina
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.
>
> Um.... do you know where MS got its original OS's from?
>
> Do you know where Internet Explorer came from?
>
> Do you know why MS Word, STILL a functionally inferior product to
> Wordperfect, is the most popular word processor in the world?
>
> MS hasn't had an original idea during their entire existence, and
> their marketing strategy revolves around predatory capitalism.
>
> OpenOffice has been around since 2000, and they're just NOW claiming
> that they're "stealing" code for basic functionality?
>
> Good luck with that...
>
You really shouldn't lecture me about MSFT. I spent the whole decade of
the
1990's working for MSFT in the sales & marketing division. I didn't live
Microsoft history, I made it. Get a reality check. Your facts are
laughable
and dated.
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