Microsoft claims Linux violates 235 patents
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Free software is great, and corporate America loves it. ItÂ’s often high-quality stuff that can be downloaded free off the Internet and then copied at will. ItÂ’s versatile - it can be customized to perform almost any large-scale computing task - and itÂ’s blessedly crash-resistant. A broad community of developers, from individuals to large companies like IBM, is constantly working to improve it and introduce new features. No wonder the business world has embraced it so enthusiastically: More than half the companies in the Fortune 500 are thought to be using the free operating system Linux in their data centers.
But now there’s a shadow hanging over Linux and other free software, and it’s being cast by Microsoft. The Redmond behemoth asserts that one reason free software is of such high quality is that it violates more than 200 of Microsoft’s patents. And as a mature company facing unfavorable market trends and fearsome competitors like Google (Charts, Fortune 500), Microsoft is pulling no punches: It wants royalties. If the company gets its way, free software won’t be free anymore. The conflict pits Microsoft and its dogged CEO, Steve Ballmer, against the “free world” - people who believe software is pure knowledge. The leader of that faction is Richard Matthew Stallman, a computer visionary with the look and the intransigence of an Old Testament prophet.
http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=40257
because linux is not making any money they cannot afford a legal defense so be prepared for the death of linux -
if i create it and not patent it, and throw it to the world.. the world uses it so much and changes it so much that it's not really "mine" anymore and i don't really care...
the thing has taken a life of its own..
someone comes along and patents whatever it is the is out there...
and then claims that everyone else must pay him...
kinda reminds me of the Neem case.. where a plant, used by the Indian people for millenia, is patented and they were not allowed to use it anymore under international law... they took WR Grace and Co to court and got the patent overturned...
will that happen again? -
seemingly unlikelyOriginally posted by the Bear:if i create it and not patent it, and throw it to the world.. the world uses it so much and changes it so much that it's not really "mine" anymore and i don't really care...
the thing has taken a life of its own..
someone comes along and patents whatever it is the is out there...
and then claims that everyone else must pay him...
kinda reminds me of the Neem case.. where a plant, used by the Indian people for millenia, is patented and they were not allowed to use it anymore under international law... they took WR Grace and Co to court and got the patent overturned...
will that happen again?
, with bill, being the richest person on earth, and is the other party is not making any profits from the Os, being not able to defend themselves, -
Just what the hell is Microsoft doing?
Starting with the development of Vista and IE7, they have worked pretty closely with open-sourced groups, and it looks like good news. Yes, there are many critics, but I thought the change is nice.
Now they turn the whole thing over, suing them over infringement of 235 patents. And the number might go up.
If they aren't happy with open-sourced developers, why work with them in the first place? And sue them over it?
Microsoft tactics are stooping lower as time passes, starting with the introduction of XP. They just have not realized that the more restrictions they put, the more rebellious customers will be.
The Linux world will survive, as long as Red Hat or Novell doesn't topple. Either one becomes bankrupt, the race is half lost. -
Bill Gates is set to retire. I want to know what this Balmer guy is planning to do. He obviously has gotten everything wrong right from the start, and is trying to recover in an even worse way.Originally posted by kenn3th:seemingly unlikely , with bill, being the richest person on earth, and is the other party is not making any profits from the Os, being not able to defend themselves, -
oracle boss is the richest now, look at forbesOriginally posted by kenn3th:seemingly unlikely , with bill, being the richest person on earth, and is the other party is not making any profits from the Os, being not able to defend themselves, -
Some specifics, without details:
According to dear Microsoft, these are the patents violated.
Kernel - 42 patents
GUI - 65 patents
OpenOffice - 45 patents
Open-sourced email clients - 15 patents
Other open-sourced programs - 68 patents
Total: 235 patents
The kernel one is very funny. Linux is a derivation of Unix. How on earth could it violate Microsoft's kernel?
Email clients - Since when they own SMTP, POP and the likes?
On the other hand, if Microsoft gets her way, we will be paying. Read this article. -
read all about the Neem plant... and how a company tried to patent it...
they almost got away with it...Originally posted by ndmmxiaomayi:Some specifics, without details:
According to dear Microsoft, these are the patents violated.
Kernel - 42 patents
GUI - 65 patents
OpenOffice - 45 patents
Open-sourced email clients - 15 patents
Other open-sourced programs - 68 patents
Total: 235 patents
The kernel one is very funny. Linux is a derivation of Unix. How on earth could it violate Microsoft's kernel?
Email clients - Since when they own SMTP, POP and the likes?
On the other hand, if Microsoft gets her way, we will be paying. Read this article. -
Read it.Originally posted by the Bear:read all about the Neem plant... and how a company tried to patent it...
they almost got away with it...
Although I doubt it would happen. More like we could be looking at Novell in days to come. -
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Damn you MicroSloth. Don't touch Novell! They gave me my favorite Linux Distro! Nooooo... *Takes out a gun and starts shooting randomly*
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Nooo.. Hope Microsoft's hand gets burnt! ><
Anyways, I like Mr Torvalds answer!
".....or would make it possible to avoid infringing by coding around whatever silly thing they claim," he said."
Haha! I like the way how he sounds simple and down to earth. Its like we can imagine any of us speaking like that. =) Linux rockS! -
it is not a surprise that they have been sued
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In a weird development, Linux users asked Microsoft to sue them.
I guess when people are mad (angry), they will really do mad (crazy) things.
List of names
I don't know whether to or at it. -
Too happy to sleep!!!
Microsoft Would Lose Patent Rights Under New Linux License Terms
The final draft of GPLv3 states that companies that distribute open-source software cannot at the same time pursue patent claims against users of that software.
Microsoft would forgo the patent rights it claims to hold over parts of the Linux operating system if it continues to make the open-source software available to customers through its partnership with Novell, according to a new draft of the open-source license published Thursday.
The latest and final draft of the forthcoming General Public License, version 3, states that companies that distribute open-source software cannot extend patent protection to some users of the software and not others, regardless of how or from whom the user received it.
Microsoft claims that Linux and other open-source software programs violate 235 of its patents. In November, the company struck an alliance with Novell under which Microsoft agreed not to sue Novell's Linux customers. Microsoft gained the right to resell Novell's SuSE Linux products and services at a markup.
The latter fact makes Microsoft a Linux distributor for the purposes of GPLv3, according to the Free Software Foundation. The FSF controls the licensing process around open-source software.
Under new terms inserted into the final draft of GPLv3, "If you arrange to provide patent protection to some of the people who get the software from you, that protection is automatically extended to everyone who receives the software, no matter how they get it," according to an explanation of the rules posted on the FSF Web site.
"This means that the patent protection Microsoft has extended to Novell's customers would be extended to everyone who uses any software Novell distributes under GPLv3," the FSF continued.
FSF makes no bones about the motivation behind the new language. The provision is a means "to attack the Microsoft-Novell deal," the group stated.
The new rules are included in what the FSF is calling a "last call" draft of GPLv3. The organization said it expects the document to be finalized within 30 days.
If GPLv3 takes effect in its current form, it could force Microsoft to either terminate its alliance with Novell or give up its patent claims over parts of Linux. In Microsoft's favor, however, is the fact that Linux inventor Linus Torvalds has previously said that he intends to maintain the Linux kernel under GPLv2, which doesn't forbid arrangements like the Microsoft-Novell alliance.
Still, it could prove impractical for Microsoft and Novell to distribute only those parts of Linux not covered by GPLv3.
Last week, Novell warned in a regulatory filing that changes to the open-source license contemplated by GPLv3 could undermine its relationship with Microsoft.
Microsoft officials on Thursday slammed the Free Software Foundation over the draft. "It is unfortunate that instead of encouraging industry collaboration to solve problems for customers, going forward the FSF wants to burn down this bridge," said Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's VP for intellectual property and licensing, in an e-mail.
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The last paragraph... sounds right... by doing this are we making things worse?
MS and FSF is just like PAP and WP... this will have no end... -
nothing will come out of it.. even if micro$oft wins in some arguments, i sure or millions or will be forking out a single cent to them.. theyalready leech enuff from me liao..
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I guess that's the answer.Originally posted by 4getmenot:nothing will come out of it.. even if micro$oft wins in some arguments, i sure or millions or will be forking out a single cent to them.. theyalready leech enuff from me liao..
Whatever lah... nothing lasts forever in this world, I see how MS lasts. -
Hmm... as per everything, a coin has two sides.
http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1572
I wonder...
