Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patents 'Reform' Debate Still Controlled by Corporations, Price of GNU/Linux Servers at Stake

Summary: Revisiting the largely-warped patent debate, which focuses on desires of corporations and continues to leave Free software vulnerable

WHEN big corporations say they are against the NSA they don't mean what we, mere mortals, assume they are saying. To corporations the issues are seen very differently; they're not bothered about privacy at all, they are only concerned with how much money they make and how customers perceive their privacy policies. Well, the same goes for patents.



When Susan Decker is writing for the corporate press (Bloomberg) she is serving the same media that regularly misuses the propaganda term "Intellectual Property" and elevates monopoly. It's fake concern. Decker is of course just focusing on patent trolls (the small ones), not big trolls like Microsoft or even the problem with patent scope (e.g. software patents). This whole debate about patents got warped by corporations, especially last year ,and we lost interest in covering it anymore. To speak about trolls and focus/obsess over them it to merely serve the corporate propaganda. Activism and grassroots movements got co-opted by plutocrats; no wonder FFII is no longer active.

"This won't do anything against real trolls," iophk explained. "Those are just paper companies with no assets to confiscate." Notice how Microsoft Nokia-fed patent troll MOSAID brags about growth, saying it "Doubles In Size".

To speak about trolls without talking about those who give them patents (like Microsoft gave patents to Vringo, which then attacked Google) totally misses the point. "Nor does it address the root problem of software patents themselves."

Rackspace, which is one of the few US companies (of considerable size) that fought back against software patents, has just had its CEO 'retiring' [1], which doesn't bode well for proper resistance. IBM, the architect of OIN, is rapidly shrinking [2,3] (not just outsourcing), which also can affect its GNU/Linux servers endeavours [4]. Servers are an area where GNU/Linux is dominant [5] and companies like Rackspace do exceptionally well (we recently covered the policy of releasing code as Free software at Rackspace). IBM recently sold its x86 server business to the Chinese (x86 servers still matter [6]) and at HP servers are now made which are GNU/Linux-only [7] (no Windows support). Google, the world's biggest GNU/Linux user (Google is bigger than Amazon, Salesforce and others), has been coming under the most legal cases over patents involving Linux, Chrome OS, Android etc. Some GNU/Linux servers, such as the ones at Amazon, are already being taxed by Microsoft -- a trend we must counter as a matter of priority. Tackling patent policy would be the simplest solution. This is probably the most important issue facing Free software today.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. Rackspace Doubles Down on OpenStack as CEO Retires


  2. IBM layoffs strike first in India; workers describe cuts as 'slaughter' and 'massive'


  3. "Slaughter House": First Person Accounts Of How IBM Just Fired Thousands Of Workers Across India
    A week ago, the Dell dude warned that it's going to be a layoff "bloodbath" as the recently LBO-ed firm began firing 15,000. Now it's IBM's turn.

    According to WRAL Tech Wire, the company which has underperformed Wall Street's expectations for many quarters, has begun "cost-rationalizing" terminations in India - the country that hosts some 100,000 of IBM's employees and where IBM reportedly employs the greatest number of workers. The unit targeted is the Systems Technology Group which is the troubled hardware group selling its low-end x86 server business to Lenovo for $2.3 billion and where Big Blue's executives have launched "Resource Action", also known as "rebalancing" but best known as mass, across the board terminations where by some estimates up to 13,000 of IBM's 434,000 workers are set to be let go.


  4. IBM Power Development Platform Emphasizes Linux ISVs
    Access to Power Systems servers for business partners, primarily independent software providers (ISVs), has been revamped with improved tooling for Linux-oriented ISVs bringing that development arena up to par with what has existed for IBM i and AIX developers for some time. This particular partner program, which is now called the IBM Power Development Platform (PDP), was formerly known as the Virtual Loaner Program. It was established in 2003 to encourage ISV development projects and provide a cloud-based test environment for companies developing and enhancing applications.


  5. Has Linux Conquered the Cloud?
    The only challenge left for Linux to fully conquer the cloud is in the private and hybrid sectors. Private cloud technology like OpenStack is pushing Linux kernel-based virtual machines, or KVMs, on the compute side and challenging VMware's position, asserted Turk.


  6. Futuremark Develops Servermark Benchmarking Tool For Linux-Based x86 Servers
    Today, Futuremark is expanding into the enterprise space with Servermark, which the company says is “a new benchmark that will enable IT professionals in businesses large and small to accurately measure and compare the performance of servers.”


  7. FIRST LOOK: HP takes giant leap in server design
    Another interesting wrinkle: Only Linux distributions are supported: Red Hat, CentOS, Fedora, and Ubuntu. No Windows.


Recent Techrights' Posts

Twitter (X) is Dying, Now It's Just Like a Mafia-Type Operation of the Man Who Does Nazi Salutes in Public
a form of extortion
The Price of Exposing Corruption in Poland (and Elsewhere)
It's easier to participate in corruption than to merely do the right thing and oppose it
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part IX: Minimum Wages For You (Experienced Scientist), Alicante/EU Paydays For Me (Unproductive, Corrupt Official)
Does UPRP maladministration extend to the false belief that qualified and experienced scientists can play the role of circus clowns?
"The Liberating Power of Simply Telling People the Truth."
'polite' bullying
Who Imitates Who? Plagiarist as Client (From Microsoft), 'Plagiarism' at the Law Firm?
let's revisit the subject
 
Links 13/06/2025: US Reduces Nonessential Staff at Baghdad Embassy Ahead of Strikes in Iran, Invasion of California Debated
Links for the day
X11 is Free Software
Whether you agree (e.g. on politics) with the person/s forking it doesn't matter
The More Time Passes, the Better Our Advice on Social Control Media Seems
At the end of the day, any platform you do not control yourself is working for someone else
UK High Court Blasts Brett Wilson LLP for Misusing "GDPR" After Failed Efforts to Censor Critics Using 'Libel' Claims
No wonder this firm is rapidly shrinking
Recent Blunders in Microsoft GitHub (e.g. Slop-Generated Bug Reports or GPL Violations 'as a Service') Taking Their Toll?
Put bluntly, if you still use Microsoft GitHub, then you're slave to Microsoft
American Imperialism and Microsoft Plagiarism
Techrights will therefore do what Microsoft does not want it to do: it'll write even more about Microsoft
When They Have Nothing Left to Help Advance Abusive Litigation for Microsoft People... Other Than Throwing ~500 Pages of Someone Else's Work Into a PDF
Microsoft is having a very tough year
Slopwatch and Yet More Holes in 'Secure Boot' (as Usual!), Promoted Inside Linux by the Man We Are Suing
Today's Slopwatch will be short
Gemini Links 13/06/2025: People You've Left Behind, Life Update and OS Changes
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, June 12, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, June 12, 2025
Links 12/06/2025: Portland Homeless Deaths Quadruple, COVID Cases Surge in Asia
Links for the day
EPO's Gareth Lord Asked About "Quality and Productivity" or, Put Another Way, Why the EPO Keeps Granting So Many Invalid/Illegal Patents
letter to Lord
EPO's Central Staff Committee (CSC) Scrutinises the Man Who Illegally Grants (and Forces Others to Illegally Participate in Granting) Software Patents in Europe
EPO compels examiners to break the law in the name of obeying illegal "rules" or "orders"
The Latest Rumour Says The Next (as Correctly Predicted Before) Wave of Layoffs at Microsoft is 3 Weeks Away, "Larger Than the First Wave"
Step 2
TV Licensing Used to SPAM Your Postbox, Now It Does the Same to E-mail
First they ask for your E-mail address; then they start nagging you via E-mail
The Toxic Playbook
Either you support Prince Mohammed bin Salman or you're a nazi
It's Possible That BetaNews Got Cracked, But Nobody Talks About It, The Site Contains an Outdated Old Image, No Activity
It's possible that they will never explain what happened to the site and users' accounts
Links 12/06/2025: Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson Dies
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/06/2025: Video Game Diegesis and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Why the Militants Have Lost Every Battle Since 2022 (When Attacking My Wife and I in Various Ways, Even Attacking Our Employers)
This takes patience, sure, but at the end most evildoers face the consequences for their actions
Our Priority is Still Tackling Software Patents and Corruption in Patent Offices
Meanwhile we got compliments on our recent articles, which means that they are effective
Politics Will Impact Software Choices
Will those systems respect users' freedom?
EPO: Neglecting Children to Promote American Monopolies by Shielding Them From European Competition
Yesterday the Central Staff Committee at the EPO spoke about another "reform" at the Office
Slopwatch: Another Day, Another Slopfest, LLM Slop Scrapers Slow Down Our Site
We too have some slop issues; this past day this site and the sister site had to answer about 2.5 million requests (not counting Gemini Protocol) and it's slowing things down for everybody
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, June 11, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Links 11/06/2025: More Vulnerabilities Found in 'Smart' Phones, China Extends Reach in the Pacific
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/06/2025: Grain and Steam Next Fest
Links for the day
Links 11/06/2025: "Quantum" Hype From IBM, US Closer to Martial Law, and “The Nation” Celebrates Milestone
Links for the day
IBM's CEO Roasted, Sizzled and Grilled for Dumb and Inconsistent Vapourware Promises
It looks like being a chronic liar is what it takes to lead the company once synonymous with computing
IBM's Goal Is Not (and Never Was) Computer Users' Freedom
More than 1.5 decades ago I found IBM to be an "ally of convenience" because of OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Wayland Shows the IBM/Red Hat Way of Doing Things
IBM is trying to 'kill' X
GitHub is Proprietary, Controlled by Microsoft, and GPL Violation Warehouse
"IRS tax filing software [will be] released to the people as free software" ... In general this is good news
Slopfarm Catastrophe
Seems like BetaNews (or BetaNoise) has just suffered a major data loss and restored the site from a week-old backup
Abuse Inside the Polish Patent Office (UPRP) - Part VIII: Illegal Working Conditions
How many people need to die for these people to get their massive salaries?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 10, 2025