Bonum Certa Men Certa

With IBM's Absorption of Red Hat Now Confirmed, at Least by Stockholders, IBM Has Shown No Intent/Plan to Stop Lobbying for Software Patents and Blackmailing With These

Freedom will be deemphasised unless assurances are given

Red Hat puke



Summary: Perhaps it is a taboo subject, but IBM's corporate attitude generally threatens the status quo and just because the acquisition isn't as scary as it could be (Red Hat considered selling to Microsoft) doesn't mean it is benign

SOMETIMES it feels like GNU/Linux is being assimilated rather than winning the battle. It's being turned into a proprietary software driver/carrier, e.g. at the "Linux Foundation", and as we've just noted, the Open Invention Network (OIN) makes a shotgun wedding of patents and patent trolls with Linux. In a sense, GNU/Linux gradually becomes what its opponents and competitors want it to become. Containers, Snaps, Flatpaks etc. are ramps for proprietary software and systemd greatly limits freedom and compartmentalisation. It gives Red Hat and soon (by extension) IBM a lot of power. Not POWER€® but actual power.



"In a sense, GNU/Linux gradually becomes what its opponents and competitors want it to become."Red Hat has long been the leader in GNU/Linux development and thus policy. Will IBM inherit that position? That might be dangerous and counterproductive. The main issue, to us at least, is IBM's stance on software patents, putting aside IBM's love of proprietary software.

There have been many headlines about Blackberry suing Twitter like it did Facebook (even in Europe!), never mind if IBM did the same to Twitter using utterly ridiculous software patents that are valid neither at American nor European courts (no matter what the USPTO and EPO claim because patent maximalists run them both).

"Red Hat's legal team must pursue legally-binding assurances from IBM that it will quit doing that; otherwise, our flag-bearer might actually be in several ways antithetical to the goals and philosophy we strive for."We didn't write about these Blackberry lawsuits last week (or any time lately) because we reduced focus on the US patent system, which is what this Canadian company-turned-troll typically exploits. It recently fed some more trolls.

These lawsuits and trolling bring us back to IBM.

Even after the takeover (now confirmed) IBM had the audacity to promote software patents in Europe. Red Hat's legal team must pursue legally-binding assurances from IBM that it will quit doing that; otherwise, our flag-bearer might actually be in several ways antithetical to the goals and philosophy we strive for. Do we want GNU and Linux to become just another UNIX?

Recent Techrights' Posts

Links 16/08/2025: "Hey Hi (AI) Data Centers Are Driving Up Electricity Bills for Everyone" and the Case Against Booking.com
Links for the day
 
Don't Talk to Bullies
This serious matter is still being examined by British authorities
The Case for Software Freedom in Europe Becomes Stronger as GAFAM and the US Become Allies of Those Who Invade Europe
"One would think that both sides of the pond would be very interested in this valuable commons and work to not just protect it but cultivate it further, rather than work to saw the legs from under it by advancing software patents instead."
Slopwatch: Google News, LinuxSecurity, LinuxBSDos.com, and Garbage From Brian Fagioli
nowadays when people search the Web or when one researches some topic (looking not just for news in Google News) one is increasingly likely to land on a fake 'article' spewed out by some Microsoft LLM
Gemini Links 16/08/2025: Back After Hiatus and News Aggregators in Geminispace
Links for the day
Links 16/08/2025: mRNA Being Abandoned, Putin Plant Flags in Alaska, Faces No Sanctions
Links for the day
Links 16/08/2025: Science Besieged, Confidentiality Standards Breached
Links for the day
Links 16/08/2025: Loners and Vacation, Climate Issues
Links for the day
Links 16/08/2025: Chatbots Bad for Kids, Software Patents Apple Battle
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 15, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 15, 2025
Slopwatch: WebProNews and Google News Promoting Fake Articles About "Linux"
Google News is being flooded by these slopfarms, so when Linux news is being sought online (via Google News) many people will read bots that spew out FUD
Original European Patent Convention (EPC, 1973), Routinely Violated by the European Patent Office, Now in Geminispace
hundreds of thousands of European Patents must be immediately revoked
Gemini Links 16/08/2025: Politics and Alhena 5.2.8
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/08/2025: Leasehold, Slop Bubble, and Xobaqu
Links for the day
Links 15/08/2025: Flight Attendant Strike, Floods, and Tropical Storms
Links for the day
Links 15/08/2025: German Government Falls Short on Free Software, Russians Breach EU Systems
Links for the day
Microsoft is Still Losing Cyprus
The market share goes down, so share prices go up
Microsoft Accenture is in Trouble
For one thing, its debt doubled in a matter of months
News Will Slow Down and Slop Will Contribute to the Slowdown
In recent years every time there was some holiday or major break the number people who "came back" shrank
Upgrading IRC Network of Techrights
a new version of the daemon we've used since 2021 was released very recently
X.Org is Still Not Dead
Oracle still developing it
"Register Debate Series" About Microsoft in the UK is Controlled by Microsoft (US)
The Register is run by Microsoft "Analysts", so the debate is doomed from the get-go
IBM is a Terrible Model for Red Hat
"Most likely caused by laying off too many people"
Microsoft Problems in Palestinian Territory and Israel
Microsoft stock (share price) goes up when market share goes down
Microsoft is getting ready to cause many employees to resign
Having already laid off many workers earlier this month, it now tries another approach
Slave is Not a Bad Word, We Need to Use It Sometimes
Who does such exclusion of words benefit? What sort of expression will be deemed impermissible and subjected to CoC enforcement?
National Day of Action
"This Friday, August 15th, there is an organized, petition-based, protest of Wells Fargo in major cities across the US," Richard Stallman wrote
Our Gemini Editions Now Contain 100,000+ GemText Pages
Our Gemini Editions aren't small, even if Gemini Protocol is still the 'underdog'
"Maybe the Problem is You"
they probably felt like they had no choice because they really needed this Microsoft money
The Relations Between the United States and Europe Deteriorate, Should Europe Continue to Rely on American Tech Giants?
The shallow notion that made-in-USA software is fairly safe for Europe to rely to is coming to a standstill
Techrights and Tux Machines Running as Usual During Vacations
No interruptions, maybe temporarily slowdowns
GNU OS, Powered by Hurd
Choice is good, as long as choices exist that respect the users' freedom
Gemini Links 15/08/2025: ADHD and "Random Weird Things"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 14, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 14, 2025
"Article 52. PATENTABLE INVENTIONS" in the European Patent Convention
Some time tomorrow we'll have a complete local copy of the EPC
Serial Slopper (SS) Still at It, Still Misusing Plagiarism Tools and Cheatware for Images and Text About "Linux"
All the slopfarms are a very big problem
Reddit Deletes Stuff, But Not for Being False or Misleading
Yet another one of those articles that speak of a man in his 50s as if he's terminally ill
Times of India and India.com Are Clickbait and LLM Slop
Google continues to reward bad actors
The More "Market Share" Microsoft Loses, The Higher the Shares Go
People joke about the same sort of thing in relation to IBM
To OIN, Software Patents Are Not a Problem
Had software patents ceased to exist, OIN too would cease to exist and its staff would be unemployed.
Microsoft's Bankruptcy in Russia is Only the Beginning
Due to politics it mostly makes sense that Windows is being phased out, also in part due to policy changes
Microsoft-Funded Publishers Lied to Us About Vista 10 and Now Advocate Us Owning Nothing
They want you to own nothing, but they also want you to buy a PC on which to become Microsoft's slave and they make it harder if not practically impossible to remove Windows
Articles Promoting and Celebrating Wayland Are LLM Slop
New example (100% slop)
European Patent Office (EPO) Reformation Project
It's a stain on the EU's reputation
The Register MS, Dominated by American Editors, Says UK Should be Run (Digitally) by Microsoft US
The Register MS is sponsored by American money, run by Americans, and its chief editor is a Microsofter from the US
Slopwatch: Google News and Other Slopfarms
Google News is rewarding sites that misuse LLMs and cheat the Web
Gemini Links 14/08/2025: Drought, Climate Experiments, and LLM Slop Considered Detrimental
Links for the day
Links 14/08/2025: Second-hand ThinkPad and Enhanced Surveillance on Chipsets from the United States
Links for the day
Moral Standards From the Masters of Linux
They get hung up on minor language issue and promote this crazy theory that racism will go away if only everyone spoke a little differently (no matter where he or she came from)
Links 14/08/2025: Data Brokers Hiding Opt-Out Pages From Google, "Fight Chat Control"
Links for the day
FSF Infrastructure Under Constant Attack
The disconnect (literally) has had an effect on credibility
Feels Like The Register MS is Trying to Diversify a Bit
If The Register MS goes back to being The Register US (or UK), that will be a nice improvement
Gemini Links 14/08/2025: Reading Journal and LLM Fatigue Revisited
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 13, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 13, 2025