<milt.shook@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:1179194103.114474.241310@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> On May 14, 5:47 pm, "Billary/2008" <F#
> %K_Liber...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> <milt.sh...@[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]
>>
>> >>
>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.
>
> So is Microsoft's claim.
>
How so? Please be specific.
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