Slashdot Mirror
Interviews: Ask Florian Mueller About Software Patents and Copyrights
Florian Mueller is a blogger, software developer and former consultant who writes about software patents and copyright issues on his FOSSPatents blog. In 2004 he founded the NoSoftwarePatents campaign, and has written about Microsoft's multi-billion-dollar Android patent licensing business and Google's appeal of Oracle's Android-Java copyright case to the Supreme Court. Florian has agreed to give us some of his time in order to answer your questions. As usual, ask as many as you'd like, but please, one per post.
You were a valuable unbiased source of information on software patents and patent litigation. Particularly the German court's struggle with them. However it came to light -- in a rather surprising way -- that you were paid or possibly employed by Microsoft and Oracle. I have heard much about this and it often casts a negative light on your blogging but I would like to hear your side of these relationships. I can conceivably understand how you could accept money that furthers your ideals but it is difficult to comprehend how I can be assured this does not influence your writing, position, selected details and bias. Are you able to lay my concerns to rest?
My work here is dung.
As an independent software developer, how can I avoid getting dragged into a patent lawsuit? How can I leverage my rights to ensure others aren't exploiting my patents?
As a middle management cog in a large organization, how can I impress the importance of patents on the executive leadership? How can I work with our console on ensuring that our creations are correctly patented? And what steps should I be taking to minimize our risk of being sued?
-Rick
"Most people in the U.S. wouldn't know they live in a tyrannical state if it walked up and grabbed their junk." - MyFirs
You write about companies. Some of them have paid you (directly or perhaps indirectly through their advertising agencies, etc). What's the intersection of that set?
Copyright (c) 1990 - 2014 Dice. All rights reserved. Use of this comment is subject to certain Terms and Conditions.
Who's idea was it to do this Q&A - Slashdot or you?
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
Who (or how many parties) paid you to do a Q&A on Slashdot?
Thanks
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
When it was clear that Judge Alsup in Oracle vs Google can program Java, how the *#*# could you still think Oracle would get its huge victory? Do you understand that you look like a shill for such things?
Any commenter that knows about programming said in this very moment that this will become a monumental defeat for Oracle, only you still believed in Oracle (you were very wrong as we know).
It was so funny when the Judge explained that any teenager could program a range check [bool check(val, min, max) {return val >= min && val <= max;}] and the Oracle lawyer looked like a complete idiot.
You bet he would. Although I disagree with Steve on a great many things, the guy is very open and honest about his biases. I'm sure I could have a great conversation with him at a party and walk away knowing I got his true opinions.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
What's it like being a giant douche bag who will do anything for money?
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
Microsoft must be shelling out a bunch of dough to Dice for all these Microsoft ads.
Which makes me wonder if a lot of these comments will be modded down into oblivian by Timothy, like what happend in the Slash Beta Wars a few months back...
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
How many times have you contacted news and commentary organisations to correct their description of you as a patent lawyer? How often have they made the correction?
How much money was /. paid, and by whom, to sponsor a Q&A with Florian Mueller?
"You were a valuable unbiased source of information on software patent"
No he wasn't. Not then and not now. He has always been a paid shill representing himself as an expert, independent and reliable. He has never been any of those. He is the Internet meme for dishonest paid shills.
To Florian: How does scum like yourself look in the mirror and not vomit?