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The Real Reason For Microsoft's TomTom Lawsuit

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the get-your-conspiracy-on dept.

Glyn Moody writes "We now know that Microsoft's lawsuit isn't just against TomTom, but against Linux too: but what exactly is Microsoft hoping to achieve? Samba's Jeremy Allison has a fascinating theory: 'What people are missing about this is the either/or choice that Microsoft is giving Tom Tom. It isn't a case of cross-license and everything is ok. If Tom Tom or any other company cross licenses patents then by section 7 of GPLv2 (for the Linux kernel) they lose the rights to redistribute the kernel *at all*. Make no mistake, this is intended to force Tom Tom to violate the GPL, or change to Microsoft embedded software.' Maybe embedded Linux is starting to get too popular."

2 of 408 comments (clear)

  1. It's embedded by jythie · · Score: 0, Troll

    Non-Industrial embedded developers are probably going to move away from linux (or at least the gnu bits) after GPLv3 anyway.

  2. Re:Say It Ain't So by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    What are you having for lunch?

    It isn't web browsers, since IE continues to dominate. It isn't office software, since MS Office continues to dominate. It isn't photo editing, video editing, sound editing, graphics software, file formats, file systems.

    Not on the web, where Flash and Java reign. Not email either on the client or server side. CAD software, no. Automation, no. Enterprise databases, no. Music, no. Cell phones, no. You might be doing well in embedded devices but judging from this move by MS, combined with Stallman's poison pill against Tivo, that probably won't be true for long.

    You have a good hold on web servers, I'll give you that, but I'd think you'd tire of the same dish for every meal.