Summary: The everlasting pattern of legal attacks almost convinces Groklaw that Microsoft is driving more lawsuits against GNU/Linux

FOR THOSE who do not know yet, T3 is partly owned by Microsoft after it attacked GNU/Linux-powered mainframes. We covered this case in:

• Has Microsoft Just Invested in Another Lawsuit Against IBM?
• Microsoft Pays Professor to Write a Paper Against IBM's GNU/Linux-Powered Mainframes
• Microsoft Innovation is Lawsuits by Proxy
• T3 Receives Millions from “Unnamed Entity” After Microsoft Investment, to Attack GNU/Linux on Mainframes
• What People Say About Microsoft's Alleged Anti-Linux Lawsuit (via T3)
• The Microsoft Lobby and Heavy Investments Put IBM in Antitrust Probe
• T3 is Partly Owned by Microsoft Now

Last week we wrote about Neon suing in a similar fashion. At the time it happened, Groklaw made no speculation and its opinion on this subject matters because Groklaw had spent over 5 years looking at an anti-IBM and anti-Linux lawsuit which was funded by Microsoft but came from SCO.

“...Groklaw had spent over 5 years looking at an anti-IBM and anti-Linux lawsuit which was funded by Microsoft but came from SCO.”Pamela Jones has had more time to assess the latest case and in reference to this recent summit, she wrote: "I've been listening to the keynotes from Red Hat's Summit 2009, and IBM's [Robert] Sutor gives a talk on Linux being in use everywhere, and he was pointing out that if you are talking about mainframes, you are talking about Linux. So, I said to myself, is *that* why there is another antitrust allegation against IBM in the mainframe space even after the court just ruled against T3's similar allegations -- is this another attack on Linux using the judicial/regulatory system? That would explain the Microsoft shadow in the picture, would it not?"

Here at Boycott Novell we choose not to speculate about this but rather to present other people's speculations. It only makes sense to do this, in case we discover something new in the future. Let's look at the verified facts. Larry Goldfarb (BayStar), a key investor in SCO, said that Microsoft's "Mr. Emerson and [him] discussed a variety of investment structures wherein Microsoft would 'backstop,' or guarantee in some way, BayStar's investment.... Microsoft assured [his] that it would in some way guarantee BayStar's investment in SCO."

Considering the way Microsoft stepped behind T3 right after it had sued IBM, one cannot help wondering if there were similar arrangements surrounding the latest case.

Since we've mentioned Red Hat's Summit, worth recalling is the legal case against Microsoft's alleged corruption with the government of Switzerland. It's appearing again in this week's news, under the headline "Microsoft rebels":

When monopoly meets budget crunch

Over the past couple of years, Microsoft shops have been increasingly wooed by vendors offering alternatives to Windows, Exchange, Microsoft Office and other Microsoft wares. The competition has grown so fierce that in May, Red Hat went so far as to sue Switzerland (and win), saying that it could not grant Microsoft a no-bid contract for Office when so many other options exist.

It's not Red Hat actually, it's many companies. We highlighted this pattern of disinformation before:

1. Microsoft Sued Over Its Corruption in Switzerland, Microsoft Debt Revisited
2. Can the United Kingdom and Hungary Still be Sued for Excluding Free Software?
3. 3 New Counts of Antitrust Violation by Microsoft?
4. Is Microsoft Breaking the Law in Switzerland Too?
5. Microsoft Uses Lobbyists to Attack Holland's Migration to Free Software and Sort of Bribes South African Teachers Who Use Windows
6. ZDNet/eWeek Ruins Peter Judge's Good Article by Attacking Red Hat When Microsoft Does the Crime
7. Week of Microsoft Government Affairs: a Look Back, a Look Ahead
8. Lawsuit Against Microsoft/Switzerland Succeeds So Far, More Countries/Companies Should Follow Suit
9. Latest Reports on Microsoft Bulk Deals Being Blocked in Switzerland, New Zealand
10. Swiss Government and Federal Computer Weekly: Why the Hostility Towards Free Software?
11. Switzerland and the UK Under Fire for Perpetual Microsoft Engagements
12. Lawsuit Over Alleged Microsoft Corruption in Switzerland Escalates to Federal Court

In conclusion, Microsoft still seems to be investing in spurious lawsuits against GNU/Linux, whereas its own corrupt behaviour in government (contracting) is having it sued by dozens of companies. One might suggest that Microsoft is trying to distract people away from its own crimes by accusing others (notably IBM) of crime. But Microsoft, the company which brought "Jihad" to computing, does not make these accusations directly; it pays other companies to do the dirty work, just as it had Murdoch badmouth Google for weeks [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]. Remember those anti-Linux software patents it marketed to patent trolls just a few months ago [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]? ⬆

"...Microsoft wished to promote SCO and its pending lawsuit against IBM and the Linux operating system. But Microsoft did not want to be seen as attacking IBM or Linux."

--Larry Goldfarb, Baystar, key investor in SCO