Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patent Extortion Still Microsoft's Primary Anti-Linux Strategy, Show New Lawsuits

"Where are we on this Jihad?"

--Bill Gates



Ballmer on patents
Original cartoon



Summary: Microsoft sues three more companies for using the Linux-based Android whilst In Re Bilski reportedly invalidates computer system patent claims

MY WIRED INTERNET connection ought to be set up by midnight tomorrow, but there is not a moment even to rest before the miserable, unethical bully is trying to make money out of the competition. Microsoft wants the world to know that it owns Android and any Android user must pay for some unknown patents that are not even valid outside the United States and were never really brought to court (it all began with Novell's secret patent deal in 2006). As the Motorola case shows, Microsoft wants to prevent such cases from leaving Android and Linux in the clear, so it puts up heaps of ammunition, trying to lead to mysterious settlements. It's the SCO tactic, but this time Microsoft is litigating directly rather than fund those who already do. Barnes & Noble, Foxconn, and Inventec probably refused to pay Microsoft, so the arrogant monopolist is suing, as if it owns the entire industry, even its competition which is based on Free/libre software, where patents are rightly seen as antithetical. Microsoft is suing all three companies simultaneously (or at least announcing it in this fashion), which means it is trying to make them buckle under legal fees/burden and scare anybody else who uses Linux in a device. Here is the FUD from Microsoft:



Microsoft Corp. today filed legal actions in the International Trade Commission and the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington against Barnes & Noble, Inc. and its device manufacturers, Foxconn International Holdings Ltd. and Inventec Corporation, for patent infringement by their Android-based e-reader and tablet devices that are marketed under the Barnes & Noble brand.


This is fancy language for racketeering [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7], trying to make the mafia look like a gentlemen's club, as usual. Microsoft Florian is jubilant about it, as usual (celebrations in his blog, the clients must be happy!). But Microsoft will carry on telling the gullible ones that it "loves open source", right? The OSI is not buying it.

To end this with a less negative tone, there is good news about the case of Bilski, which now invalidates "Computer System Claims". To quote the primary source, "In an interesting opinion, DC District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer has ruled Alice Corp's four asserted patents invalid under 35 U.S.C. €§ 101 for failing to claim patentable subject matter. This case can be seen as flowing from the Supreme Court's recent decision in Bilski v. Kappos, 130 S. Ct. 3218 (2010)."

"This hopefully validates our focus on the patent issues and on Microsoft, which is very unique in that regard."This not the first such example of In Re Bilski killing CII-type patents. Here is one example that we covered. On the other hand, Microsoft has been trying to pollute Europe with software patents, as we last showed the other night. See the new tweet which says: ""algorithms", yay #swpat #assuch http://j.mp/eTsswT €· RT @EPOorg: Patent examiner jobs at the EPO: www.epo.org/examiner-fields"

Microsoft's relentless lobbying is trying to make software patents go global, which harms not only Linux but just about any company that develops or even uses software. As far as Microsoft is concerned, the whole world can be nuked if it's profitable for Microsoft. The latest story teaches us why Linux is winning (Microsoft cannot compete fairly), but software patents are an unjust element of the US industry -- an element that must be eliminated. Additionally, it shows that Microsoft is no longer much of a producing company, it's just a parasite which deserves to go bankrupt immediately, just like SCO. This hopefully validates our focus on the patent issues and on Microsoft, which is very unique in that regard.

Recent Techrights' Posts

It's a Lot Easier to Participate in the Unethical System Than to Oppose Injustices in It
Going after powerful and high-budget interests is never easy
 
Gemini Links 09/08/2025: Water Painting and Political Violence
Links for the day
Slopwatch: LLM Sloppers in Google News, LinuxSecurity, and More
they also perpetuate some falsehoods as the LLMs lack any comprehension
Links 08/08/2025: China King of Plastics and US Dictator Plans to Meet Russian Dictator
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: Cracking a Family Member's Password and Overdose of Slop
Links for the day
Red Hat's Latest Talent Hunt, Day Ahead of Mass Layoffs, is Yet Another Microsoft Executive
Red Hat will apparently commence mass layoffs early this coming Monday
Links 08/08/2025: "Quit Facebook" and High Cost of Microsoft/Windows Shown Again ("BlackSuit")
Links for the day
Good Morning, Readers of The Register MS
Things The Register MS could (but does not) cover this morning
Why Gemini Protocol Has a Bright Future
Maybe Gemini Protocol's promise becomes more appealing as the Web turns to slop and bloat
Microsofters Filed Two SLAPPs Against Us, Now They Cannot Keep Up With Judges' Orders
For over 4 months already their facilitator in London has been under investigation by British authorities because of what's being done to my wife and I
Censorship Regarding Red Hat Layoffs
Talk about this? They'd rather not.
Struggling to Cut Costs, Microsoft Continues Shutting Down and Cancelling Stuff This Month
There are August layoffs at Microsoft
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 07, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 07, 2025
Fake 'Linux' Articles, Written by Bots to Take Traffic Away From Real Articles
LLM slop helps replace information with junk or misinformation
When Google's Googlebombing of "Gemini" Was Not Enough; They Now Also Googlebomb "Gemini Space"?
We know GAFAM not only worries about Gemini Protocol but also attempts to 'infiltrate' Geminispace
The Register MS Promotes Microsoft Slop, Assumes All Readers Use Microsoft Windows
Microsoft really dominates the site
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: KDE/Qt Development and What's Missing From "Retro"
Links for the day
Links 07/08/2025: US Punishes India Instead of Russia, Attacks Law Firms to Prevent Scrutiny
Links for the day
Read Us in Geminispace as Well
it's definitely a lot simpler than using a Web browser
Once a Site About BSD and GNU/Linux, and After Months of Silence, LinuxBSDos.com Comes Back Only as a Slopfarm
very frustrating
Links 07/08/2025: Hardware Wars, Mass Recall of Colgate Total Clean Mint, More Microsoft Holes Found
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/08/2025: "Right To Manage" and LoRa Analysis
Links for the day
For the First Time in a Month OSI's "OpenSource.org" Blogs and It's Basically a Microsoft Blog Post (Microsoft Controls OSI)
For the first time in a month OSI writes something and it is Microsoft propaganda composed by a Microsoft-salaried operative
Microsoft, Already Borrowing 3 Billion Dollars a Month, is Trying to Cause Many People to Resign
MSN (i.e. Microsoft) and others openly admit it
GAFAM 'Says' is Front Page "News"
The point of journalism is to check and assess facts, not parrot what people and companies merely claim
Links 07/08/2025: Apple Makes False Promises, More Trouble for Microsoft
Links for the day
OSS Didn't Always Mean Open Source Software
"oligarchs all the way down"
The Register MS Does More Microsoft Sez or GitHub Sez (Says) Pieces
60 minutes ago
They Want Activists to Just Barely Walk and Eat, Not Do Activism Anymore
It's sort of like the ending of '1984'
Quit Perpetuating the Narrative of Gemini Protocol 'Dying' (It's False)
The "whisper campaign" against Gemini Protocol
Criticising Social Control Media in Social Control Media
Many people are quitting Social Control Media (fewer of them announce this in public)
Non-Free JavaScript Programs in Banks Aren't Even the Biggest Problem
Technology was supposed to make life easier; in practice, however, for most of us the opposite effect can be observed
Slopfarms Are Typically Fake News
Slopfarms typically relay falsehoods
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: Replacing a Pocket Watch and Buying in Bulk
Links for the day
IBM is Obliterating Fedora
"Fedora releases were shipping with an increasing number of bugs on launch day even while I was using it for a several year stretch."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 06, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 06, 2025