Richard Stallman Saw Microsoft's Plans Against GNU/Linux Back in 2004

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2008-08-11 15:26:32 UTC
Modified: 2008-08-11 15:26:32 UTC

The following interview from Digital Tipping Point is a quite fascinating. Towards its end and a couple of minutes after the beginning, Stallman mentions that the Linux kernel, which makes up about 0.25% of the GNU/Linux system according to him, was found to have been covered by 286 different US patents. It is not necessarily news that there was such a study, but watch this video.

Non-Ogg versions are here.

According to Richard Stallman (back in 2004), Microsoft wanted to be using software patents and it was filing for (or granted) several patents per week with the aim of destroying competition like GNU/Linux. As he points out, documents showed that they intend to use software patents against GNU/Linux. That was in 2004.

Not too shabby for a company that violates not only patents but copyrights too.

Microsoft Austria has collected the top prize in the Community category of the Austrian Big Brother Awards. The prize, a tacky looking robot thing which can be viewed here, was given for the company's activities in spamming Austrian Linux users with questionnaires. Microsoft Austria recruited G3 GMBH to handle the mailing. This outfit seems to have helped itself to the email addresses of Austrian users registered with the Linux Counter and then sent them the questionnaire, which asked about their views on the software industry, about Linux, and about their employment. This was in breach of the Linux Counter's copyright and terms of use, which specifically bar use of the data for mass mailings.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Microsoft is filing for software patents more than ever before. That may be the plan. ⬆

Comments

twitter

2008-08-11 22:35:39

Richard Stallman probably understood the issue of software patents back in the 1980's, just as soon as the US recognized them. It is clear that M$ has been using them from at least 1999 when Bill Gates penned his infamous ACPI memo:

One thing I find myself wondering about is whether we shouldn't try and make the "ACPI" extensions somehow Windows specific. .... Maybe we could define [things] so that they work well with NT and not the others even if they are open. Or maybe we could patent something related to this.

Clearly, he wanted to use any method possible to keep free software from working well with commodity hardware. His disdain for the work of others comes out when he calls reverse engineering efforts, "nothing" and seeks to make everything else unusable by denying key parts of hardware.
Roy Schestowitz

2008-08-11 22:57:38

There's a copy of that E-mail from Gates here. The links above does not work.

European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Czech Mate: EPO Kingmaker or Merely a Pawn in the Game?: recent "missions" of the EPO President
SLAPP Censorship - Part 131 Out of 200: A Big Win for the Media in the United Kingdom (UK) Today: In a democratic society the Right to Know, which is closely connected to freedom of the press (or what one might label "blogging" or "blag"), comes above all else, except where there are lives being put at risk
IBM's Fedora Plans to Integrate Slop Into "Fedora Workstation as a Default Feature.": IBM does not care whether the community wants this or not
The Media Talks a Lot About XBox Layoffs, a Closer Look at the Data Shows Microsoft 'Bloodbath': 'Bloodbath' is the term insiders use
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 07, 2026: IRC logs for Tuesday, July 07, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Microsoft Cuts Doom "id Software" and Turkey Detains Journalists: Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Old Computer Challenge (OCC) and Hardware Tests: Links for the day
A Break From the Routine: What matters is what whistleblowers keep feeding information to us
SLAPP Censorship - Part 132 Out of 200: When You Cannot Pay a Million Pounds (1,335,520.00 United States Dollar) to Lawyers But Have a Strong Community: Techrights compensates for its fiscal poverty with a wealth of community spirit
Fame is Not the Goal: "Fame" kills
Mental Health in Free Software Communities: clearly there is a subject that merits debate and it ought not be a taboo anymore
The Era of Sponsored Spam: There is no "era of AI", there is era of BRIBES to PRETEND there is an "era of AI"
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Cleaning, Old Computer, and More: Links for the day
Links 07/07/2026: Le Monde Combats LLM Slop Plagiarism, "ACLU Launches Largest Ever Midterm Electoral Program": Links for the day
Extremism in the Free Software World is Mostly a Myth: Only the firm belief that justice applies to all will produce a just society
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 06, 2026: IRC logs for Monday, July 06, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Kernelized Secure Operating System (KSOS) and "Exploiting Thoughtcrime in LLMs": Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 130 Out of 200: Jealousy, Envy, Hubris: This site is primarily about Free software
Gemini Links 06/07/2026: Still Mostly Dry, GoToSocial, and More: Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Effective Dispute Resolution… But Not For EPO Staff: Slovenia fielded one of the few Administrative Council delegations which managed to maintain its own independent line against the tyrannical EPOnian "Sun King"
Community Sites Need Genuine Collaboration and True Autonomy: People who want to communicate, federate and organise for effective change need to evolve
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Covers Quibble, Free Software for Secure Communications, in the FSF Summer Bulletin: The Georgia Tech folks are bringing Free software education and contributions to one of the better known Computer Science hubs in the US
Microsoft Layoffs Include Windows, Bing, Slop (CoPilot etc.) and There Will More More Rounds (or Waves) to Come: "43% of Xbox laid off"
Obscene Contradiction in Microsoft's Layoffs Tally ("Official" Numbers Do Not Add Up): Notice how they treat "LinkedIn" as separate
Preserving Comments About the Real IBM Before They Get Deleted: IBM in the 1980s is not what it is right now
Cybershow on "Escaping Prisons For Your Mind": "THE CYBER SHOW: Stealing technofascism's boots, and stomping on its own face with them."
Links 06/07/2026: At Least 20% Staff Reduction in XBox (Microsoft), Taiwan Sees Uptick in Chinese Aggression/Provocation, Senator Rodante Marcoleta Arrested: Links for the day
Confirmed: Microsoft Layoffs Come in Two Waves, Just Like Last Summer: To us, what stands out is the admission from Microsoft that there are two (or more) waves
In Praise of the UK's Stance on Free Speech (but Some Reservations): At the moment there is a healthy discussion going on with the objective of disrupting attacks on British press
Exposing Corruption at the European Patent Office (EPO), a Call for More Whistleblowers: We predict that, provided enough whistleblowers speak out, António "the unready" won't even finish his current term
Leaving Our Pets for Several Days: This week our pets will be worried that "mommy and daddy" are away
Dating Trees and Dating 'Apps': several high-profile stories in the news about scandals in "dating apps"
DW Documentary About Julian Assange Turns 2: It was released just days after Assange had turned 53 and about two weeks after he had left the UK
Independent Media is the Only Form of Legitimate Media: Independent media is, indeed, what we need to demand more of
The Story of the European Patent Office (EPO) Wagging the Dog (EU): The aim of the series is to properly inform the world - not just Europeans - how Europe's second-largest institution is run [...] How did a corporate hub of monopolies become so detached from the Rule of Law?
GNU/Linux Up to New High in Libya, Windows Down to All-Time Low: GNU/Linux touches 5% there, based on statCounter
Links 06/07/2026: Artists Reject Slop (or Even de Facto Bribes to Market/Endorse Slop): Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 129 Out of 200: Iranian Tactics: Hunger for revenge compels people to do overzealous, irrational things
Quiet Week: Many in the US are still enjoying an extended weekend
The Media Needs to Speak of Slop as a Climate Issue Like It Did With Bitcoin: But the slop industry keeps paying the media to play along with the hype
IBM's Fall: IBM's fate is closely connected to that of the Free software movement because of the salaries
Social Dialogue at the European Patent Office (EPO) is Dead, the Strikes and Work Stoppage-Like Actions Carry on: What next for the EPO?
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 05, 2026: IRC logs for Sunday, July 05, 2026
Links 05/07/2026: Shadows of the Upper Peninsula and 2026 Old Computer Challenge: Links for the day

Richard Stallman Saw Microsoft's Plans Against GNU/Linux Back in 2004

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts