01.25.11
Patent Lobbying in Europe
Summary: When public officials and alleged “campaigners” actually serve corporate interests
IT IS no secret that there is extensive lobbying in Europe, including some regarding software patents.
Some of the pro-software patents lobbying happens to come from Microsoft Florian, who is spreading Android FUD since some time in the second half of last year. He is spreading lies, but these lies are enough for Microsoft boosters to stick in their blogs or whatever, hoping that these lies will stick [1, 2].
“It’s like the SCO case all over again, this time with Dalvik/Android as the target rather than just Linux.”Fab from Linux Outlaw says that it seems “like @thurrott [Microsoft's booster Paul Thurrott [1, 2]] is a few days behind on tech news these days: http://outl.ws/hsB6RE he should have read http://outl.ws/harXBr”
To clarify, Fab points out that Thurrott emits FUD like “Source: More Code Theft in Google’s Android” while “Florian Mueller Spreads Anti-Android FUD [which is simply untrue]“. So here we have Microsoft boosters citing other Microsoft boosters/apologists/lobbyists who accused (libellously) Google of “code theft”. It’s like the SCO case all over again, this time with Dalvik/Android as the target rather than just Linux. No wonder Court Justice Jackson called Microsoft executives “gang members” back in the days. That’s just the way the company operates. Following debunking of some of these still-propagated lies, The Inquirer says that “Mueller is forced to back off android copyright infringement claims”:
If that sentiment sounds somehow familiar, then cast your mind back to August 2010, when Microsoft claimed that Android wasn’t free for the smartphone makers that choose to install the operating system. The following month, Tivanka Ellawala, a financial officer at Microsoft, made what can now be seen as a precursor to Mueller’s comments, saying, “It does infringe on a bunch of patents, and there’s a cost associated with that.” That was merely Microsoft bluster, of course, because she didn’t identify any patents to support that threatening claim.
Mueller added, “I’m sure those companies didn’t intend to infringe Oracle’s rights. They probably relied on the presumed legality of the Android codebase.” But he wasn’t specific.
Wayne says that The Inquirer is right in this case. “The Inquirer says Florian Müller is ‘not competent’, world laughs, ADTI cringes,” he wrote shortly afterwards.
Meanwhile, Andre from the FFII has been trying to get hold of official documents which our reader Satipera believes to be related to the subject of “patents” and “unitarypatent”. To requote an item we cited the other day:
The European Council has some difficulties to apply the TURCO judgement of the ECJ which clearly mandates a disclosure of legal advice unrelated to court proceedings. Legal advice concerning the enhanced cooperation on an unitary patent, they think they are permitted to keep it confidential. I strongly doubt so.
Something fishy is going in in Europe and the Commission too is playing a role in it. Satipera has discovered and shared with his followers some new lobbying figures from Microsoft; the monopolist is ranked number one for lobbying, but there is no telling who exactly they hire to do their bidding. █
