[KLUG Members] Claim: Linux violates 235 MS patents

[Mike Williams]

Michael Rudas wrote:
> Ohhhh, boy.  Here's the other-shoe-drop in the
> MS/Novell deal... or is the loose shoe being used to
> slap us, collectively, on the side of the head?
>
> "Microsoft takes on the free world"
>
> <http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/05/28/100033867/index.htm>
>
> I wonder how far they'll try to take this?  Or,
> perhaps, die trying?
>
> -- Mikey
>
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> 
>   
They still haven't named any names, though.  Giving them the benefit of
the doubt, I suspect Microsoft is planning to contact the maintainers of
the infringing code (and swearing them to NDA secrecy of course) before
going public with what patents and/or code they supposedly own.  I hate
to admit it, but it's likely they have a case.  Open Source code, by
it's nature, comes from lots of different sources, and it's not very
well regulated.  With so many sources, it's almost impossible to
establish that all the code is clean.  What will be interesting once the
legal arguing gets started is how MS will establish that they are the
authors of the code that appears in both proprietary and open
codebases.  Proprietary code has to be disassembled or stolen before
anybody can steal it, but open source code can be added to proprietary
code much more easily.  If MS is not careful (and I'm sure they're going
to be VERY careful), they could end up casting suspicion on the origins
of the very code they're claiming to protect!