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Report: Microsoft says open source violates 235 patents
CNET News ^ | 4/14/07 | Stephen Shankland

Posted on 05/14/2007 7:28:15 PM PDT by mylife

Report: Microsoft says open source violates 235 patents

By Stephen Shankland

Story last modified Mon May 14 06:16:01 PDT 2007

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 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 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.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: microshaft; oss
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To: mylife

I read and re-read that article. You’d think that with 235 patent violations, the author could have included details on at least one as an example. As it is, there’s more evidence to support Algore’s global warming claims than there is to support MSFT’s patent claims.


41 posted on 05/14/2007 8:14:29 PM PDT by Redcloak (The 2nd Amendment isn't about sporting goods.)
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To: Redcloak

I bet Bills Lawyers are more convincing than Al Bore


42 posted on 05/14/2007 8:15:34 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: Duke Nukum
Just take everything that sucks about Windows and magnify it 20 to 30 times and you have linux!

Yeah--There is only one reason left why Windows still exists.

43 posted on 05/14/2007 8:17:30 PM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: jiggyboy

well, you know, I was being a bit dense on purpose. ‘cause, you know, you either believe something is true or not. You can’t kind of believe something is true because that’s inane.

But, you know, in the “urban legend” sense of it, I can sort of see how it could be true. Like how I sort of, kind of believe some rich tourists can go to Mexico and come back with a pet rat they believe is chihuahua. Or the way a sheep might be mistaken for poodle in Japan.

It just is kind of neat to be able to say that Windows and linux both suck because they’re ripped off from each other. Like this thing that used to go around the offices saying Unix and LSD both spread from Berkeley and we don’t believe this to be a mere coincidence. that was a pretty funny one.

Not true, of course, but it’s fun to pretend it’s true. And if it were true it would explain a lot.


44 posted on 05/14/2007 8:19:54 PM PDT by Duke Nukum (I wish the world was a newt!)
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To: ShadowAce
Oops. There is only one reason left why Windows still exists.
45 posted on 05/14/2007 8:19:58 PM PDT by ShadowAce (Linux -- The Ultimate Windows Service Pack)
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To: mylife
I bet Bills Lawyers are more convincing than Al Bore

First, they have to get past the Nazgûl.

46 posted on 05/14/2007 8:26:49 PM PDT by Redcloak (The 2nd Amendment isn't about sporting goods.)
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To: Constantine XIII

lol


47 posted on 05/14/2007 8:32:23 PM PDT by mysterio
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To: Redcloak

Freakin lawyers. what a humorless lot


48 posted on 05/14/2007 8:36:45 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: ShadowAce

Good article.
I wish it were easier to install apps on linux.
I installed gstream? so I could listen to streaming audio.
No problem getting it loaded but when I open ith it starts the stream and ther is no sound, even though my sound is working.

Im not a linux guy. Im just a regular confuser user.
But I am impressed with the progress Linux is making in creating a user friendly OSS for us noncode types


49 posted on 05/14/2007 8:43:13 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: ShadowAce

Oh! and another thing!
Windoze pisses me off with their sloppy coding.
I shouldnt need 512 MB of ram just to run the basic OS


50 posted on 05/14/2007 8:46:56 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: Admin Moderator

Since when is one of the biggest buisness storys of our time considered chat?


51 posted on 05/14/2007 8:57:36 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: mylife

And then even before windows 3.1 there’s GEOS on the 64.

Gee did Bill ever invent anything


52 posted on 05/14/2007 8:58:13 PM PDT by quietolong
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To: quietolong

Bill has done good work, but Im tired of his monopoly


53 posted on 05/14/2007 9:00:30 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: Admin Moderator

Next thing you know people will be chatting about Rudy Giuliani L0L


54 posted on 05/14/2007 9:02:28 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: mylife

Well this is interesting. Normally if a company looks like a threat to microsoft they just buy them out.

But since you can’t buy open source out you have to kill it.

This means MS views it as a real threat.


55 posted on 05/14/2007 9:07:37 PM PDT by festus (The constitution may be flawed but its a whole lot better than what we have now.)
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To: festus

I agree.
With Micheal Dell running linux on his personal laptop and now offering Ubuntu 7.04 on new dell computers I see Gates getting ancy


56 posted on 05/14/2007 9:09:52 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: mylife

>>> Bill has done good work <<<

Which Is?


57 posted on 05/14/2007 9:16:57 PM PDT by quietolong
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To: quietolong

Hey. He wrote a program for streetlights as a lad!


58 posted on 05/14/2007 9:18:13 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: mylife

microsoft reminds me of a spoiled kid,

you just wish they’d shut up!


59 posted on 05/14/2007 9:19:06 PM PDT by ken21 (it takes a village to brainwash your child + to steal your property! /s)
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To: ken21

The spyware pisses me off


60 posted on 05/14/2007 9:19:50 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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