[geeks] fwd: Microsoft demands royalties for open-source software

[Sandwich Maker]

anyone think these cases have serious merit, or is the deep-pockets
just trying to bury the opposition with legal costs?

" http://open.itworld.com/4915/070514msroyalties/pfindex.html
" 
" Microsoft demands royalties for open-source software
" IDG News Service 05/14/2007
" 
" Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service, Singapore Bureau 
" 
" Microsoft Corp. reportedly wants open-source software users to pay
" royalties on 235 alleged patent violations.
" 
" In an interview with Fortune magazine, Brad Smith, Microsoft's general
" counsel, and Horacio Gutierrez, the company's vice president of
" intellectual property and licensing, said open-souce software,
" including Linux, violates 235 Microsoft patents. And Microsoft wants
" distributors and users of open-souce software to start paying
" royalties for these alleged violations.
" 
" "This is not a case of some accidental, unknowing infringement.
" ...There is an overwhelming number of patents being infringed,"
" Gutierrez said.
" 
" Microsoft executives in Singapore were not immediately available to
" comment on the article.
" 
" Smith broke down the alleged patent violations during the Fortune
" interview, saying the Linux kernel violates 42 patents and the
" operating system's user interface violates a further 65. He went on to
" claim that the Open Office application suite violates 45 patents and
" open-source e-mail applications infringe on 15 more. Other open-source
" software applications infringe on 68 patents, Smith said.
" 
" Microsoft has been laying the groundwork for patent claims against
" Linux and open-source software for some time. Most notably, the
" Redmond, Washington, software company signed a Linux deal with Novell
" Inc. that indemnifies the company against Microsoft patent claims over
" Linux. Last week, Dell Inc. joined the deal, becoming the first
" hardware vendor to do so.
" 
" Microsoft has struck other deals with hardware makers. In April,
" Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Microsoft signed a cross-licensing
" agreement that included a clause that indemnified Samsung against
" Linux patent claims.
" Sumner Lemon is Singapore correspondent for the IDG News Service.
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Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen
adh at an.bradford.ma.us                       and think what none thought