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Is Microsoft About To Declare Patent War On Linux?
Glyn Moody writes "Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft's Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, has just published a piece called 'Apple v. HTC: A Step Along the Path of Addressing IP Rights in Smartphones.' In it, he notes that today's smartphones are all about the 'software stack,' not the 'radio stack,' and that 'as the IP situation settles in this space and licensing takes off, we will see the patent royalties applicable to the smartphone software stack settle at a level that reflects the increasing importance software has as a portion of the overall value of the device. In the interim, though, we should expect continued activity.' That 'activity' obviously means lawsuits against those producing those software stacks, and Gutierrez seems to be hinting strongly that Microsoft intends to join in. So where does that leave all the Linux-based stacks such as the increasingly-popular Android? Is this just a clever way for Microsoft to start a patent war on Linux without appearing to do so?"
What a complete piece of FUD article. Nowhere in the original post he say anything about Linux or using this to attack Linux or Open Source in general. In fact, this is a guy who has previously wrote this about Microsoft open sourcing:
Some observers question how a company can contribute to open source projects while, at the same time, insisting on respect of its intellectual property rights by its competitors. In fact, these two things are not inconsistent, and striking a balance between them is one of the key things every commercial technology company must do in order to compete effectively in a mixed source world.
Yeah, it really seems like his out there to destroy Linux.
Did the article writer also forget that Microsoft does Windows Mobile? He says " one that doesn't even involve Microsoft directly.". How does mobile market not concern Microsoft directly when it's making Windows Mobile, an OS that HTC has always been it's flagship manufacturer.
Then completely out of context he quotes Bill Gates words from 1976, 34 years ago, how programmers should be paid for their work instead of doing everything for free. Did he just completely ignore how well funded Linux and some other OSS projects actually are? Mozilla alone brings in $80 million a year.
It's not about destroying Linux, it's about making some sense to patent fights in mobile markets.
I guess open source developers need to get their ideas, no matter how primitive, into the various open source repositories so that there is ample prior art to defend with.
Remember, You are unique...just like everyone else.
well, almost:
http://www.cracked.com/article_18458_6-subtle-ways-news-media-disguises-bullshit-as-fact.html
... the patent war has
This isn't about Linux. It's about Google. Google could be using a closed-source kernel, and Apple would still be suing them, with Microsoft quietly cheering.
Have you forgotten ACTA? That rancid pustule from a diseased whore's ass is supposed to ensure that everone, everywhere on earth complies with US patent and copyright law.
And, believe me, Microsoft has a voice in ACTA. ALL the rights holders in the world with more than a couple million dollars at stake has bought a chair in the discussions. You will note that voters, taxpayers, and citizens have no voice . . .
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
The second Apple or Microsoft started a patent war with Linux someone would in their camp would utter the same words Isoroku Yamamoto did right after attacking Pearl Harbor in World War II.
Isoroku Yamamoto: I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.
In the late 1800's, the US was a hotbed of innovation, in part because US companies were a little cavalier about Intellectual Property law, especially when it came to ripping off foreign IP. Sounds a lot like China and the far east today. Right now, the products I find on sites like brando.com are both cooler and cheaper than what I find on Amazon and Thinkgeek, unless they are the same ones. But there are a lot of items I can find from asian based sites that I can't find on western retail sites. The innovation center of gravity is shifting across the Pacific. Where Japan failed with force of arms, China is bringing about the Asian Co-prosperity sphere through commerce.
What I want to know is this: when is Microsoft going to pay everyone for all the IP they've stolen. borrowed, and cheated others out of?
Remember the MSIE screwjob they did to the original developers? That they'd give the developers they licensed it from a cut of the profits from sales, then proceeded to GIVE it away, getting MSIE nearly for free when they had NO browser to compete against Mozilla, Netscape, et al
Remember when MSIE needed a TCP/IP stack and had nothing to compete against trumpet, sun, and so forth? What did they do? Copy & paste from BSD. Since they recognize that hobbiests cannot do all that work for nothing, when are they going to pay the BSD developers for the BSD sockets stack that became winsock?
When are they going to pay the Stacker folks what they really deserve, rather than the pittance the courts awarded? Shouldn't they (Microsoft) have been fined $750,000 per unit shipped since it was copyright infringement at its most blatent level, and distributed for commercial use?
Funny how MS loves to talk about IP when they perceive the fact that they're past their peak, but when it comes to others' IP, the value of IP suddenly diminishes.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50