On Tue, 2007-05-15 at 09:21 +0300, SaadAlDine AlSaidi wrote: > Hello All, > I guess as always microsoft will try everything thing it has to stand against > the vast spread of open-source operating systems and software, they clam > their patent violation on some softwares by relaying on English words and > even key-board shortcuts. > Lucky, up till now no court, not even the American ones could or hopefully > ever will give them the right or make them win a case. First off, there was a demonization (e-Week?) of HP merely stating that patents are an issue in the US. HP has been openly licensing their patents for their GPL donations as much as IBM, Red Hat and others. HP has only been warning that people in community-developed software need to knowledgeable -- especially US developers -- not that any community-developed software (including Linux) necessarily violates any patents. Popular, community-developed software developers tend to be more knowledgeable than most commercial software developers out of necessity -- their code is exposed. Second, Microsoft is _not_ going to be suing anyone from their own words. This is FUD, pure and simple -- and Microsoft is counting on the ignorance of people or, worse yet, demonizations of it as an American company (please, don't fall into the trap of US corporation-bashing, it doesn't address the real IP/ownership/licensing issues which are _easy_ to do in reality). Microsoft _knows_ that if it starts suing Linux, IBM** -- the 8,000lbs. patent gorilla (who is not always a "friend" of pro-Linux companies (or clients who buy from their competitors) when they cross IBM's market, don't get me started ;) -- would smack Microsoft so far back that they would never recover. There is enough of a "counter patent portfolio" between various Linux companies that Microsoft would quickly find itself overburdened with lawsuits and, possibly, having to pull products off the shelf -- including its profitable Windows and Office. Microsoft not about to slit its own throat. Third and more specific, on the point that Microsoft complains about countless of their patents in OpenOffice.org, people forget that OpenOffice.org is a copyright of Sun Microsystems. Sun has a cross-patent/code license with Microsoft circa 2003 -- I mean, does anyone realize why OpenOffice.org got far more compatible with newer Microsoft Office v10/11 (XP/2003) as of about 2004? The license between Microsft and Sun! ;) So Microsoft can_not_ go after OpenOffice.org, let alone any commercial licensees, and it's very unlikely they'd have any stance on anyone who makes a LGPL derivative of it either (although we can't know for sure since the terms of their license is not public). It's the same reason why the whole whoopla on the OpenXML import/export is a non-issue as well. Lastly, as a hard-core American Libertarian and pro-Capitalist, I have done my part to educate people on community-developed software. That includes the fact that Linux, like other community-developed software, is an individual choice developers and corporates make. That is not only extremely compatible with capitalism, but a guaranteed right of assembly. In fact, it's far more American than government-created corporate monopolies, which is the facist (literally) economic model. In fact, the US basically invented the labor union (itself a free enterprise community in a capitalist market), and the labor union only became an "issue" in our capitalist society when it was government-mandated/protected (which is where the socialist aspect creates an unbalance, because it removed individual choice and free market balance). Remember, Red Hat** is an American company too, and they understand the balance of community and capitalism, and their entire "we give away everything we do, no proprietary IP here" attitude is why they are virtually the _only_ major Linux company that is fully GPLv3** compatible. Red Hat is the ultimate American ideal of the "provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare." I always like to point out the contrasting, but complementary terms "Provide" (defense) and "Promote" (welfare). I won't go any further than to point that out -- but it's exactly what Red Hat does, as well as -- of its own free will -- additionally providing for our welfare as the biggest, single code contributor in the Linux community (not withstanding the copyright sign-overs to the FSF collective). Get out and get these facts known! Stomp the FUD! **NOTE: Some of my blog articles on this ... The Five Types of Linux Corporations: http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/11/five-types-of-linux-corporations.html Software, IP, Licensing and GPL 2 v. 3: http://thebs413.blogspot.com/2006/11/software-ip-licensing-and-gpl-2-v-3.html -- Bryan J. Smith American, Capitalist and Pro-Community as an Individual Choice -- Bryan J. Smith Professional, Technical Annoyance mailto:b.j.smith@xxxxxxxx http://thebs413.blogspot.com -------------------------------------------------------- Fission Power: An Inconvenient Solution -- Fedora-marketing-list mailing list Fedora-marketing-list@xxxxxxxxxx https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-marketing-list
