Linux Foundation’s Portress of Defense Against Microsoft
September 19, 2007 by Mark Marucot · Leave a Comment
Last week, Microsoft filed charges against Free Open Source Software (FOSS) which violated 235 patent violations. Linux violated 107 patents, 42 from Linux kernel and 65 on graphical user interface. Linux Foundation’s membership comprises of numerous companies, organization and individuals which contributes in success of Linux development. Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of Linux Foundation fires back to protect Linux developers and users1.
According to Zemlin, the current patent system should be reformed and fundings should be use in research and development instead of litigation.
Linux Foundation believes that the current software patent system is problematic. The superpowers have their stockpiles. The trolls have their stashes. Rather than spurring innovation, which is of course the raison d’être of the patent system, today’s patent games will divert dollars away from research and development in the U.S. Instead, those dollars will fund innovative activities in countries that have better things to do with their time and money than litigate.
Zemlin also warned all entities that will threaten the Linux community.
Touch one member of the Linux community, and you will have to deal with all of us. Microsoft is not the only—perhaps not even the largest—owner of patents in this area. Individual members of the Linux ecosystem have significant patent portfolios. Industry groups, such as the Open Innovation Network and our own legal programs at the Linux Foundation, aggregate our membership’s patents into an arsenal with which to deter predatory patent attacks. With our members’ backing, the Linux Foundation also has created a legal fund to defend developers and users of open-source software against malicious attack. We don’t expect to but, if needed, we will use this fund to defend Linux.
Microsoft - Novell Strategy on SUSE Linux
September 19, 2007 by Mark Marucot · Leave a Comment
Last November 2006, Microsoft and Novel made a deal that will allow Microsoft to distribute SUSE Linux Enterprise Server1. The deal also provides protection of Novell SUSE customers against patent litigation from Microsoft.
There is a thought that Microsoft will file charges on Linux patent violations because a question is left when Brad Smith , Microsoft’s Senior Vice President and general counsel, declined to comment if Red Hat Linux violated Microsoft’s intellectual property.
However, at the event, Smith declined to comment whether Microsoft thought that Novell rival Red Hat’s Linux distribution violates Microsoft’s intellectual property.
Last week Microsoft file charges on 235 patent violations on open source software and 107 of the violations is for Linux.
By May 25, 2007, Novell and Microsoft filed an agreement to US Securities and Exchange Commision that covers Business Collaboaration, Technical Collaboration and Patent Cooperation Agreement. Under the terms of agreements, Microsoft will fund on licensing fees and sale for five years. Novell agreed to pay Microsoft a percentage of revenue of the products.
Microsoft demanded royalties to all open source software users for these patent violations. There is a thought that this actions made by Microsoft will make companies nervous of being target of lawsuit and shift from other Linux distribution to Novell SUSE Linux.
According to Bill Hilf, Microsoft’s general manager of platform strategy and director of Microsoft’s work on open source project, Fortune’s article mislead the readers on Microsoft’s plan2.
the Fortune article does not correctly represent our strategy. That’s what has people so inflamed. It looks like our strategy changed and we are moving in a new direction, but it hasn’t. In the Novell deal, we said we had to figure out a way to solve these IP issues and we needed to figure out a way for better interoperability with open-source products. The Fortune article makes it look like we are going out on this litigation path.
Microsoft will not go with the litigation path.
Our strategy from everyone in the company — from [Steve] Ballmer to Brad Smith to me and everyone in between — has always been to license and not litigate as it relates to our intellectual property. So we have no plans to litigate. You can never say we’ll never do anything in the future, but that’s not our strategy. That article spins it on the attack. The only new piece information in that article is that it just put a number on the patents
Here is the final word from Hilf about Microsofts involvement in open source software community.
There are three things that we are doing: We’re competing with Linux and Unix servers with Windows servers, we’re going to find ways to interoperate between Linux and Windows because lots of our customers run both and we want to grow the open-source ecosystem as it relates to Microsoft software. There’s no other strategy. There’s no other hidden agenda. I’m trying to be as clear as I can to people that this isn’t a threat. We’re not going out and attacking people. We’re trying to solve an IP issue.
The conclusion if up to our readers about Microsoft’s commitment on their business and to the open source software community. Let us know what you think.
