Linux Foundation’s Portress of Defense Against Microsoft

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.

1. http://www.businessweek.com/technolo…x _technology [↩]