Billary/2008
2007-05-14 20:19:01 UTC
http://www.rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.com.com%2FReport%2BMicrosoft%2Bsays%2Bopen%2Bsource%2Bviolates%2B235%2Bpatents%2F2100-1014_3-6183437.html
Report: 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
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Report: 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 report 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 support 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--support 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
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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 support 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 partnerships such as the one
struck by Novell and Microsoft.
The Linux geeks love to bash MSFT. Yet they love to copy the features andReport: 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
Report: 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 report 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 support 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--support 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
Report: Microsoft says open source violates 235 patents Most hated blogger
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 support 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 partnerships such as the one
struck by Novell and Microsoft.
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.