Microsoft Tech Specs Prohibit GPL Implementations

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Friday April 5, 2002 @03:42AM from the difference-between-trust-and-anti-trust dept.

abartlet writes "As described in this Advogato entry, MS is trying to pull a swifty with their latest 'release' of their CIFS (the networked filesystem Samba implements) Technical Reference. The licence specifically prohibits any GPLed or (or LGPLed) program from implementing it, defining it as an 'IPR Impairing Licence'! Fortunately the CIFS community is about to release its own Technical Reference based on earlier MS documents and long experience in attempting to interoperate with the MS product." Microsoft's claim is completely ungrounded - nothing written by a third-party can take away Microsoft's intellectual property rights. But it makes a good (read: confusing to the general public) justification for preventing others from interoperating with their software.

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Gonna be an interesting ride... by Paul+Bristow · 2002-04-05 03:49 · Score: 1, Flamebait

Hmm, license terms that forbid GPL'd implementations. A crusade against open source. A government that can be bought, and $36 billion in the bank. At what point does open source software become against the law in the US?

When did the government of the US stop being for the people? It's not as if MS provides that many jobs or even pays much tax!

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- Paul
MS definition of Intellectual Property Rights by WarpedMind · 2002-04-05 04:01 · Score: 0, Flamebait

We think we have the right to own everything.