Comments on: Report: Microsoft says open source violates 235 patents
Top Microsoft lawyer alleges in a magazine interview that the Linux kernel and OpenOffice.org violate hundreds of the company's patents.
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guess they realized it's never too early to plan your funeral
arrangements.
I, among many others, said some time ago that Microsoft was
cozying up with hackers, the open-source community, and
Linux for reasons that would only benefit them</
b>. At one point I suspected a Linux version of windows, but I
guess they can't get that done in time so they need to slow the
market down by threatening it.
Let this be the last bit of complete bull-crap that finally
wakes up this industry and begin dumping Microsoft in droves.
Sure, it will take awhile, but it is not only more than possible
today, but completely desireable.
But of course Microsoft's history is one of great benefit from the re-engineering of ideas developed by others - Windows is based on Mac (which came from Xerox), Word evolved from WordPerfect, Excel from Lotus 123 (which came from Visicalc), and so on. Even the original DOS code they bought was based on CP/M.
If companies in the early days of the PC had vigorously enforced software patents, we'd all be running Wordperfect and Visicalc on our Xerox Star workstations.
Of course, Microsoft would benefit from using patents to prevent future upstarts from doing to Micorosft what MS themselves did to others, but that would do nothing to benefit innovation or consumer choice.
Red in the face, Steve barked at the director of MSFT Legal, "how do I swear at Linux and throw chairs at them?"
This open source announcement is MSFT Legal's first public thrust to calm down their great leader. It's rumored that, privately, MSFT Medical has prescribed him some tranquilizers. I don't think they'll help. Steve's a gung-ho trooper - lol.
Microsoft's patents weren't 99 and 44 100ths of a percent
bogus, we'd all just ignore this and go about our business. But
the state of software patents is about equivalent to the state that
publishing or writing in general would be in if the written word
had been deemed patentable 15 years ago and folks had built
up around 100,000 book patents, the claims of which had
resulted in a couple of hundred thousand words and phrases
being patented, regardless of their having been in the public
domain for years or decades before. Yes, it is THAT bad.
If you haven't been paying attention the last few years, let me clue you in:
1. Companies are applying for patents on every stupid thing they can think of(ie not something they developed), and are getting granted. Then these patent trolls are suing the innovative companies in the ground.
2. MS is at the head of the patent troll parade.
3. MS only respects their own IP, and steals everyone elses.
4. Like the SCO suit(you do know about this don't you? Let's just say that using threats over vague and unsubstantiated charges is very dangerous to a companies bottom line), this is just more sabre rattling to intimidate people and companies to not go to open source. This is the last avenue MS has to "compete". Vista is a failure, Office 2007 is a yawner, XBox is a money loser, zune is a no go, their new VM software is still a year away and features are being removed so it can be released "on time", never mond the fact that it can't compete todaymuch less tomorrow. The attempts by MS to branch out into other areas of computing have been failures. In short, vague threats are all they have left.
5. Recently the supreme court raised the software patent bar where it is far easier to invalidate them, and have hinted at banning software patents entirely. MS should have tried this 2 years ago. The current of both the marketplace and the court system is against them now.
They know that these alleged patents will be invalidated and will not likely go to court, unless they becaome even more desperate, because they will lose and lose big. Furthermore, they know it, which is why they are using the media and not the courts.
If someone cuts me off and then flips me off I am within my rights to sue. Does it mean it is a good idea? Nope. In my case all I would get is laughed at and maybe forced to pay the other parties legal costs. The stakes are much higher for MS.
If they are making the assertion and don't have the rights then they are ethically wrong to do so, but they are within their rights.
Isn't anything built on open source open source? Too bad that there is no open source legal team willing to assert that MS is standing on 2.3 million falst patents and is infringing on the variouse open sources lisences that they agreed too.
They can't even behave like human beings, so screw them and the trash talking.
Maybe next time you can actually discuss this in a debate, or would you spin into profanities and walk away because you have no real justification, only petty things any decent power user could explain to you?
This is the same old Microsoft ploy- if you can't get ahead by putting out a good product, just use every dirty strong-arm and/or underhanded tactic you can think of to stifle the competition. The sooner the M$ bubble finally bursts, the better of we'll be.
few tried to stifle competition and fewer still tried to patent
software or even copyright a user interface. And I say that as
longtime, proud MacTribesman. And Apple improved the interface
and capitalized on their expertise and we all benefitted from it. Not
least, Microsoft benefitted, although it took them longer to copy
the original Mac OSes than it took them to copy Tiger if you can
believe that. So lets return to those thrilling days of yesteryear.
Down with software patents!
Meanswhile Microsoft becomes more irrelevant by the day, and this is coming from an XP user.
It's getting very old.
Charles R. Whealton
Charles Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com
Anyway, Apple should sue Microsoft because we all know that Microsoft has copied there stuff since the first version of Windows.
I hope Microsoft become the next SCO because waging war against Open Source is really waging war against the people including some of their own customers.
Look what happened to SCO when they attacked Open Source. They went and are on a downhill slide. I hope Microsoft enjoy their downhill ride too and Google will be there to give them a push so they can go down faster. Weeee.
Sell sell sell.
They are the ones that invented copying others.
Now they say that no one should copy them. The problem is a copy of a copy is still a copy of the original and Microsoft is NOT the original in anything.
They copied the GUI, Browser, IM, Office, Accounting, Encyclopedia, TCPIP stack, Aero... In fact everything they have is a copy.
This is hypocritical and every IT company should be against them for their arrogance.
Naturally, you're gonna have all these liberal nerds accusing MS (or more properly, "M$") of "******** on the little guy." ***?
Stealing is Stealing.
Apple steals.
If you want to know what a liberal is then go to
www.fsf.org, freebsd.org - these are the good guys, liberal guys. Don't get fooled by these Apple loving ignorant fools......
Have fun, I will see you back here empty handed in about 10 years.
If you had any clue at all what software is you wouldn't be spouting this ignorant drivel.
Here is a hint: if some nerd sitting at home can randomly type code and it violates a patent, what does that tell you about it?
Is it novel? Evidently not.
Is it based on prior art? Yup, since that nerd randomly typing code used what he already knows to create it.
You inadvertently proved why software patents are a bad thing and why copyright is all that is needed. Good work!
These idiots think they can just run around dry humping big companies' legs, grunting about their intellectual property - patents on customizing the colors of browser buttons - and they're just going to throw open the treasury doors for them.
Hilarious.
They might as well take up Buddhism and chant for Sasquatch to arrive on a UFO with the Leprachan's pot of gold.
Proof positive that having more than one lawyer in a room at a time can cause massive reality distortion fields.
But what the hell, it will be very entertaining to see what IBM, Xerox, Lucent and Apple do when MSFT pulls the trigger, no to mention the Europeans.
There does exist a BSD-PC os.
It is about the threat of Linux and not patents at all. Patents is just the best excuse they can come up with to try and stop Open Source.
Microsoft shouldn't SCO there.
First, there is a difference between a public spec or RFC and stealing patented code. A spec is a spec, and it contains no code in itself. How is using a PUBLIC spec patent infringement? It's not.
Second, I find it hilarious people flip-flop on patent issues.. All for the little guy, but against the big guy. Well, did you ever think that most patents were created by the little guy, and sold to teh big guy for neverending royalties as long as the patent is used? No.. didn't think so.
And M$ isn't the only one who claims Linux violates their patents. You guys apparently only get your undies in a bunch when M$ is mentioned.
You cannot have the double-standard. Either play by the same rules, or get off the playground.
And finally, use some common sense. First, many of the patents M$ uses that were derived from other companies were legally bought or licensed in the end, and they probably ensure every patent is properly licensed through a legal department now. It wouldn't surprise me if they have a group of people to ensure no code used is even remotely similar to any open source project.
And if Linux can legally steal patented ideas from others without proper licensing and permission, then don't get your panties in a bunch when someone does it to you.
Either play fair and by the same rules as the rest of God's Green Earth, or get out of the playground.
if these Linux newbie programmers have no respect for other people's IP, then they deserve to be harassed!
Why could everybody not go BSD?
I cannot even download Red Hat Linux for free, how is Linux free, it costs at least $80.00
And please don't say that they can't due to trade secrets. All patents are publicly available.
If there was anything legit to this, MS would have filed suit years ago.
However, the courts have gone against them and MS will lose and lose big if those claims go to court. Leaving MS with nothing left to do but slowly die.
And for the BSD idiot, most of BSD was written before software was patentable, and I guarantee you that there are hundreds of patents that have been issued after the release of BSD that BSD infringes.
Linux is a direct threat to MS, and all MS can do about it is throw out unsubstantiated claims. BSD is not a threat.
It's not stealing if it was licensed and used under a legal agreement. Please do not twist the facts to mislead people. If you read the full detail, yes, portions are still licensed LEGALLY, Not stolen!.
If linux is violating patents, then, it's violating patents.
Micro$loth has WAY too much gall, this pontificating is but one of hundreds of examples.
*SIGH*
If their patents were indeed violated, then, it is theft. Plain and simple.
Let me guess, you own an Ipod.
If I were to hazard a guess, then, I would say that important patents have indeed been violated.
The Open Source folks have to keep up, at each step with patents/laws etc, it would seem that this has not happened. Mere writing free or open source software does not give one the right to violate patents. One can be a revolutionary but one has to be non-violent!!! One cannot be a vegan and eat milk based cheese!!!
Microsoft would perhaps not "go after" a small company/programmer, however, a big violation or "a road that leads to a violation" of patents on a grand scale is certainly something they have to resolve.
Open Source can be free without patent violations, like Solaris 10, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD etc etc....
They demand respect, they need to give respect.
As for Linux, that's built on Unix which as I understand it pre-dates Microsoft. Are we sure that MicroSoft didn't build part of it's empire using Intellectural Property that others pioneered? I'm not so sure.
- stupid apple ad
- by gggg sssss May 14, 2007 6:17 PM PDT
- If I see that stupid ad again I am goung to paste a post-it note over that part of the screen.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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