THE Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seems to have already become somewhat of a department of Microsoft. It happened soon after they had appointed a Microsoft executive to take charge [1, 2] under pressure from BSA folks (some of whom are former employees of Bill Gates' dad, who habitually assists his son's business [1, 2, 3]).
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) today announced that Taney Engineering, Inc. and Taney Cunningham Equipment, LLC of Henderson, Nevada, a joint civil engineering and land survey services company, settled a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (Docket #C08-03132) alleging copyright infringement. BSA initially contacted the companies through its out-of-court audit program. When that proved unsuccessful, a lawsuit seeking an injunction to stop the defendants from making or distributing unauthorized copies of Autodesk software as well as an unspecified amount of damages and attorneys' fees in connection with the litigation, was filed on behalf of Autodesk, Inc., a BSA member company. The suit was filed on June 30, 2008 and settled in December.
Microsoft reiterates H-1B support despite layoffs, tough economy
In a new blog post, Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith voices continued support for the H-1B visa program that Microsoft and other technology companies use to bring foreign guest workers into the United States. Smith's post, titled "Appreciating our Immigration System," come in advance of the annual window in which companies file for the visas.
Microsoft asks feds for a bailout [Joke]
[...]
Pepper also said that his sources within Microsoft were indicating that the money might be used for a surprising purpose: suing Apple, Google, open source companies, and other entities Microsoft has labeled "revenue stealers" in internal communications. Microsoft has antagonized the companies in the past and most recently sued Linux vendor TomTom over alleged patent violations.
According to Pepper, Microsoft sees litigation as a possible revenue stream, although he believes such a strategy would be for the short term only. "I don't see Microsoft getting into the business of suing everybody willy-nilly," he said. "But as a stopgap measure while it struggles with the economic climate, Microsoft believes litigation can be a revenue-positive undertaking."
Comments
David Gerard
2009-04-02 16:39:25
Roy Schestowitz
2009-04-02 17:02:00
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