Bonum Certa Men Certa

Behind the Microsoft Puppetmaster: SCO-Type Libel, Acacia-Type Patent Trolls, and Novell-Type Patent Deals to Make GNU/Linux Not Free (Gratis)

Donkey Kong



Summary: Microsoft has been trying anything from copyright libel to patent trolls to actually suing companies like TomTom (after using extortion), so what are the implications?

THREE years ago we wrote about Microsoft's 3 (or more) "Generations of Anti-Linux Lawsuits, by Proxy". It is neither news nor rumour that Microsoft is sending companies to fight its battles against competitors, GNU/Linux included. One which we cannot be sure Microsoft was involved in is the Acacia lawsuit which ended some days ago (here is Red Hat's own version/copy of the press release). Just like in the case of SCO, this whole mess took years to end and the GNU/Linux system was found not guilty (the software patent in question is junk). The damage done is one of reputation (FUD) and lawyers/litigation fees, which would be beneficial to Microsoft either way (no matter of the outcome of these lawsuits). Slashdot wrote about the subject and so did Groklaw, which added a reference to SCO:



Say, that's what SCO wanted, and Microsoft. Everyone wants to use IP bogo lawsuits to get money from Linux, it seems.


Paula Rooney also mentioned SCO in her coverage of the Acacia case:

Now that the SCO and IP Innovation cases are disposed of, it anyone else want to take on Linux?


SCO and Acacia are both sharing some connections with Microsoft.

TechDirt wrote about the SCO case which never seems to end. There is also yet another cartoon about it [1, 2] as coverage carries on.

Well, this is fascinating. Here's an order from Judge Ted Stewart in a dispute between Novell and its insurer, Vigilant Insurance Company. Novell tried to get them to pay for the SCO v. Novell litigation back in 2004 and they refused, so Novell sued last May. They were seeking to have at least some of their expense to defend from SCO's attacks covered by the insurer, but Judge Stewart just ruled on summary judgment [PDF] that slander of title isn't included in the policy and SCO's initial complaint was for slander of title only, so Vigilant doesn't have to pay.

[...]

You know what is sort of odd? This order was signed on April 27. The jury in SCO v. Novell ruled that SCO doesn't own the copyrights in dispute on March 30, 2010. Yet Judge Stewart never mentions that.


Pogson wrote about "Trying to Tax GNU/Linux," noting that:

There are the doers and the slugs. Slug are living things and need to survive but they do slimy stuff to eat what others produce. In the world of IT there are all kinds of slugs trying to tax the doers of GNU/Linux:

* M$ shaking down manufacturers for “royalties” * other more obvious patent trolls sued RedHat and Novell and Lost * SCO tried to claim copyright that software they did not own was copied in GNU/Linux


Microsoft has already initiated or at least supported lawsuits against Linux. What does that say about Microsoft's relationship with Free/open source software? As we found out a few days ago, Microsoft was apparently going to sue HTC before HTC decided to cough out some 'protection' money. HTC is coming up with the Android-based "Incredible" quite soon and it's just as incredible as the name suggests. Why should Microsoft make money from it given that it contributed not a single line of code to it? Welcome to the bizarre world of software patents and racketeering [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] as a profitable business model that does not put you in jail, assuming you have the right connections in the government.

Here is a look at the HTC Incredible:

“The Droid Incredible by HTC is an absolutely amazing device,” says PC Magazine, giving the phone its Editors’ Choice award and a 4.5 star rating. “The most powerful phone on the U.S. market today, it reflects and enhances the state of the art smartphone...It's one of our highest-rated phones in the past year.”


The HTC Legend finally allows rooting, which makes one wonder if HTC can just sell its phones without an operating system (and without Microsoft extortion tax) to install an operating system of one's own choice.

The HTC Legend, probably one of the best Android devices ever, has finally been rooted, which means you can now access the smartphone’s file system.


Here is what SJVN wrote about Microsoft's extortion:

For years, Microsoft has made patent threats against Linux. Mind you, Microsoft has never proven, or even attempted to prove, any of these claims. But that hasn't stopped Microsoft from using the threat of Linux patent lawsuit to force companies like Amazon into paying them off. Now, Microsoft has upped the ante. Microsoft has muscled mobile phone maker HTC into paying Microsoft off for patents that may apply to its Google Android-powered phones. In short, without actually proving that Linux is violating Microsoft's patents, the Redmond giant is 'taxing' companies for using Linux.


The 'Microsoft press' chose the headline "Microsoft Attacks Android in HTC Patent Deal" (strong wording) and Samsung expects to sell half of its phones with Microsoft's extortion tax included in the cost (please do not buy Samsung or HTC phones by the way).

There is another sign today that Android continues to pick up steam in the smartphone industry. Reuters is reporting that Samsung plans to put Android on 50% of it's smartphones in 2010, and possibly more beyond this year.


The HTC situation is also covered here, along with a new example of the patent system going awry.

Texas-based DDB Technologies, an intellectual property-holding company, has sued a host of US sporting leagues and companies which it alleges copied its live simulation, play-by-play text, graphics, animation and other patented interactive media-based technologies.

Just last week it filed a lawsuit against the National Basketball Association (NBA) and has also brought cases against ESPN, the NFL and Yahoo. The company recently settled a case against Major League Baseball, with the defendants, as part of the settlement, agreeing to buy a patent and entering into a licensing agreement with another.


It has been a while since we last covered Novell's OpenBallnux, but here is a weekly summary of news and a new video titled "Working With Suse Studio".

[an error occurred while processing this directive]



Finally, as a quick reminder, we urge readers to avoid products from HTC, LG, Samsung, Novell, and other companies that pay Microsoft for Linux. Only by refusing to buy from them will they (and Microsoft) get the message that extortion is not an acceptable business model and that software patents need to be shunned.

Recent Techrights' Posts

XBox is Rapidly Turned Into a Slopfarm by Microsoft
Slop isn't about efficiency and saving money
Reboots Should Never be Necessary
"BUT WHAT ABOUT SECURITY!!"
Microsoft's Halloween Documents and systemd, Wayland, Etc.
Maybe one day Wayland will be widespread. Or maybe not.
Changing One's Name Won't Change One's Past
People who have earned a bad reputation are not magically "entitled" to reset
People Who Assault Women Are Not Victims of "Distress"
It seems like an American tradition. In a country with almost 50 presidents, not even one was a female.
Adoption of Gemini Protocol Still Growing
Gemini Protocol is being obscured by the media - it doesn't help that Google 'hijacked' the word "Gemini" - but people still manage to find out about it, download a client, and use it
Brett Wilson LLP "Takes it Personal" (Character Assassination, Not Professionalism). Everybody Can See That.
On behalf of violent men
 
Coming Soon: Another OSI Scandal, This One Implicating Molly de Blanc
OSI has been fairly quiet lately
Outreachy & Debian pregnancy cluster, Meike Reichle evidence
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Again, "Lunduke is Actually Sending His Audience to Attack People"
Microsoft Lunduke is not trying to "protect" Linux
One of the Most Hilarious Things About the Microsoft SLAPPs
It's so ridiculous
Financial Support for the Free Software Foundation or the GNU Project
The FSF has extended until Friday its fund-raising campaign
Illegally Hiding (or Demanding Secrecy Around) Illegal Requests or Attempts at Extortion
unlawful communications like threats
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: BOFH Archive, Updating Old Palm PDAS, and Nginx vs Slop Bots
Links for the day
Ubuntu is Becoming GAFAM-Like
What does that say about Canonical and Ubuntu?
Slopfarms Which Take Real Articles About GNU/Linux and Turn Them Into Copycats Which Are False
Even before the LLM hype those were quite common
The Firm That Picks on Techrights is Accustomed to Working With Criminals
Techrights never did anything illegal. So why is it being picked on by people who work with criminals?
Microsoft Said the Mass Layoffs Were for "Investment" in "AI", But It's Also Laying Off the "AI" and "Copilot" Staff
Months ago we showed many so-called "AI" people were getting the boot and this time it's the same
DryDeadFish is Dead, Long Live DryDeadFish
We kept checking, hoping it can recover from some temporary technical issue
For Quite Some Time Already Microsoft Attracts Crackpots, Scams, and More
Occasionally we talk about the situation at IBM as there are many parallels
Links 14/07/2025: Chatbots Broken Again, McHire LLM Shows Limits of the Hype
Links for the day
Slashdot Media Turned Linux Journal Into a Slopfarm and Now Slashdot Actively Promotes Anti-Linux Slopfarms
Yes, "no-nonsense" apparently means actual nonsense
Links 14/07/2025: Arresting Photographers, Threats to Revoke US Citizenship Over Criticism
Links for the day
More EPO Leaks on the Way
We hope that Mr. Rowan will actually try to refute what we say and show, not merely point the finger at the messengers
Decommodification is a Corporate Strategy Against Communities
systemd is led by Microsoft and hosted by Microsoft
copyleft.org 'Hijacked' by the People Who Attack the Person Who Created Copyleft
So far there's nothing "tasteless" in copyleft.org, but that can change at any time in the future
Asking People to Take Down Articles and Videos Only Makes These More Popular and "Viral"
If you do something bad, one of the worst things you can possibly do it try to silence those who speak about it
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 13, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 13, 2025
Two-Thirds Towards FSF Goal, Richard Stallman to Give Talks in Europe
There are 67 left before reaching the target
Gemini Links 14/07/2025: Politicised Tech and "Leaving GitHub"
Links for the day
Pissing Contests and Pissing Off Everyone
people who came from Microsoft are trying to vex and divide the community
Microsoft Repeats the Mistakes Made by the EPO After We Exposed a Major Microsoft/EPO Scandal 10 Years Ago
That scandal was all over the media, not just in English
The Demise of LLMs
We've just checked BetaNews again. They've dropped all the slop and went back to human authors.
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Sonpo Museum of Art and FCEUX
Links for the day
Links 13/07/2025: UnitedHealth's Censorship Campaign, Australia Wary of China
Links for the day
Firing Away With Nonsense
Or fighting fire with fire
Links 13/07/2025: Climate Crisis, GAFAM Poisoning the Water
Links for the day
Turns Out LLMs for Code Don't Save Time and Don't Improve Quality
Neither legal nor useful
The Microsofters Will Have an Obligation to Compensate Us
This story isn't just about Microsoft. It's also about corruption, there are many women victims, there is abject "abuse of process", and many more scandals to be illuminated in years to come.
Reproducing at the EPO Instead of Producing Monopolies for Foreign Monopolies With Their Price-Fixing Cartels
Does the EPO recognise the need of well-educated Europeans to bear kids?
Valnet Inc. Dominates Real (Not LLM Slop) GNU/Linux Coverage in 2025
And likely in prior years, too
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Fund Raiser Goes on
Later this month we'll expose another OSI scandal
EPO Staff Representatives Issue a Warning About Staff's Health and Inadequate Care
Even the EPO's own stakeholders (money sources) are openly protesting against what the EPO became
Links 13/07/2025: Partly Assorted News From Deutsche Welle and CBC
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/07/2025: Board Games and Battle Styles
Gemini Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 12, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 12, 2025
Plunder at the Second-Largest Institution in Europe
cuts, neglect, health problems, even early deaths
Links 12/07/2025: Political Developments, Attack on Opposition, Climate Actions
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: Melodic Musings and Small Web July
Links for the day
Links 12/07/2025: Jail in China for Homoerotica, South Korea Discriminates Against Old Workers
Links for the day
If Only Everything Was Rewritten in Rust, We'd Have No More Security Issues?
Nope.
Links 12/07/2025: Birdwatching and Fake/Misleading Wall Street 'Valuation' Figures
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/07/2025: How to Avoid Writing, Apps for Android
Links for the day
Using SLAPPs to Cover Up Sexual Abuse and Strangulation
The exact same legal team of the Serial Strangler from Microsoft and Garrett already has a history fighting against "metoo"
EPO Staff Committee on Harassment in the Workplace
slides
Adding the Voice of Writers to UK SLAPP Reform
The journey to repair antiquated (monarchy era) laws will likely be long
EPO Takes More Money From Staff for Speculation (Pensions), Actuarial Study Explains the Impact
"The key change in this year’s Actuarial Study, due to cascading the new “risk appetite” from the financial study, is a significant increase of the total pension contribution rate of 5.7 percentage points, up to a total of 37.8%. This is driven by an unprecedented decrease in the discount rate of 105 bps down to 2.2%."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 11, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 11, 2025