Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft's (Patent) War on GNU/Linux Continues, But It's Disguised Using Intermediaries

Microsoft and trolls



Summary: A look at Microsoft's latest manoeuvres that implant patent traps in Linux and have patents passed to patent aggressors, which in turn go after original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that distribute GNU/Linux

THE previous post was about companies that choose to use patents for pure aggression (even pro-actively). They typically use terms like "protection" or "defense", but they are not the defendants. They're the bullies. Such is the case with Microsoft, which leverages software patents (granted by the USPTO) against companies all around the world. Microsoft typically uses proxies to do the litigation (for fear it might otherwise damage the image of Microsoft). Almost every day we still see some gullible journalists who mindlessly repeat the "Microsoft loves Linux" jingle.



"Microsoft typically uses proxies to do the litigation (for fear it might otherwise damage the image of Microsoft)."Let something be very clear; Microsoft still attacks GNU/Linux with patents; pretty hard in fact. Silently, Microsoft uses patents to compel companies to pre-install Microsoft programs (even on operating systems such as Android) and sometimes -- as the lawsuit against Samsung served to show -- Microsoft takes the aggression public (outside the back room) by filing lawsuits and flinging a lot of weak patents at the defendant, in order to pressure towards quick (albeit ruinous) settlement.

Microsoft is not a reformed company; it's actively taxing everything in an effort to raise costs (or "rents") associated with production and distribution, even of mere software, i.e. no devices/hardware sold. See what Azure has become patents-wise [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]. Using various consortia (like those of the Linux Foundation), Microsoft also acts like a Trojan horse. It's trying to add patents-encumbered 'standards' to all sorts of things. 3 days ago Tuxera resurfaced again, this time promoting a Microsoft patent trap (and tax) inside Linux with the promotional headline "Tuxera FAT+ File System for Embedded Systems is Compatible with FAT32, Faster, and Supports Files up to 16TB" (putting aside GPL issues, not just patent issues).

"Microsoft is not a reformed company; it's actively taxing everything in an effort to raise costs (or "rents") associated with production and distribution, even of mere software, i.e. no devices/hardware sold."To make matters worse, a couple of days ago MOSAID resurfaced again in "Conversant" clothing (it changed its name after all the negative publicity) and this pro-patent trolls site put a happy face on it. A Microsoft-connected patent troll (which Microsoft passed Nokia patents to) comes to Europe and IAM seems satisfied. "The NPE has seen mixed results in its attempts to monetise the portfolio," it wrote, "although recently it has notched up significant court victories in the US against LG and Apple. Despite those wins, filing this latest case in London shows that, like many patent owners that have become frustrated with the US courts, Conversant believes that in certain circumstances Europe offers a much more conducive climate for patent assertion."

It means trolling, not "climate for patent assertion." Disregard these euphemisms. As noted above, they also go after Android OEMs (not just the likes of Apple). They are doing this already. And in Europe! For those who missed it, Ericsson's troll is doing this as well in Europe. It has become a growing problem and potentially a massive headache for firms in Europe.

No company in Europe, however, has been a bigger 'troll' than Nokia, especially after Microsoft took charge. As we showed earlier this month, Nokia now targets Android OEMs with its patents.

"No company in Europe, however, has been a bigger 'troll' than Nokia, especially after Microsoft took charge."Having already assigned, at the behest and request of Microsoft, some of its patents to the above patent troll, Nokia now goes further. "Microsoft Transfers 500 Nokia Design Patents To HMD Global," said a report some days ago, but nobody else seems to have covered it. "None of the involved parties have yet issued a comment on the matter in any capacity," the report said. So they pass 500 patents and nobody says a thing? I informed the Linux Foundation about it (2 days ago), but have heard nothing since.

Is Microsoft still using Nokia as a patent attack vector against Microsoft's rivals?

Here are the details:

Microsoft transferred approximately 500 Nokia-related design patents to HMD Global Oy, according to the filings uncovered in the database of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). The patent portfolio that the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant yielded to the Finnish tech company doesn’t represent the entirety of Microsoft’s remaining Nokia-related holdings, with the company’s mobile division still owning around 200 design patents that it originally acquired following its purchase of Nokia in mid-2014. It’s currently unclear whether the patents that have now changed hands were part of the original deal that saw Microsoft sell Nokia to the Foxconn-owned FIH Mobile for $350 million and HMD Global Oy being granted a license by Nokia to develop and sell new devices under its brand, or if the transfer was negotiated at a later date.



For those who view it as benign, mind the role of HMD after Microsoft essentially destroyed Nokia. It's more like a licensor. Microsoft turned Nokia into a patent troll that attacks Microsoft's rivals. It's even in the news today. A few days ago a reader sent us this link, quoting the following passage:

The lawsuit, the second high-profile patent dispute between Apple and Nokia in the last decade, began last year when Nokia accused Apple of infringing on dozens of patents it owns, as well as patents owned by Nokia subsidiaries.



Yes, "Nokia subsidiaries." The same old trick. Microsoft too has all sorts of subsidiaries that act like classic patent trolls.

"For those who view it as benign, mind the role of HMD after Microsoft essentially destroyed Nokia."Tom Hochstatter‏, a patent professional, asked Unified Patents: "Is Nokia considered at troll? Nokia gets $2 billion from Apple $AAPL for #patent infringement..."

He linked to this article, but it's all over the news today (even though it's a Sunday), e.g. [1, 2, 3, 4]. This is about software patents too; they're definitely in the mix. As one article put it, "Nokia alleged Apple of 32 patent infringements related to display, user interface, software, antenna, chip-set, and video encoding..."

"Microsoft too has all sorts of subsidiaries that act like classic patent trolls."A lot of these are pure software.

When does Nokia sue or settle with Microsoft? Well, the answer here says it all really. Nokia and Microsoft are in this together.

Here is how AOL framed it 2 days ago:

After a quick fight, Apple and Nokia settled a patent lawsuit back in May. But the two companies didn’t comment on the value of this settlement. While terms of the deal are still undisclosed, Nokiamob first spotted that Nokia announced that it has received a $2 billion upfront cash payment from Apple (€1.7 billion).

[...]

It’s going to be interesting to look at Nokia’s upcoming quarterly earnings release to figure out how much Apple is paying for this agreement. But there’s one thing for sure — Nokia must be quite happy with this new revenue stream.



At whose expense?

"Android OEMs are already affected by this and some need to shell out money to avoid being sued."Not only Apple is impacted.

Android OEMs are already affected by this and some need to shell out money to avoid being sued. BlackBerry, for that matter, is on a similar boat, except without Microsoft on it. BlackBerry too has become a patent parasite, suing companies in the Eastern District of Texas as it cannot sell enough products to survive. Some people evidently continue to worship BlackBerry's patents. If only they knew what BlackBerry has truly become...

Our Wiki page about Nokia chronicled its various attacks on Android over the years; don't be mistaken by the company's new Android phones (or BlackBerry's). They take advantage of Android (because there's nothing else they can use; iOS is an Apple monopoly) while suing fellow Android OEMs.

"Microsoft -- more so than Apple -- does a lot of these patent battles via intermediaries and the mainstream media rarely bothers mentioning that. Instead it's obsessing over "Microsoft loves Linux" and advertising proprietary Microsoft software as if it's a "Linux" thing."Suffice to say, what makes matters even worse is that Apple too sues Android OEMs. Florian Müller has the latest on the Samsung case. "The parties have until Tuesday to propose a briefing schedule, and a case management conference will be held on Wednesday," he wrote this weekend. And in other noteworthy news, Apple is being sued again. "Florida company CustomPlay filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple today," Mac Rumours said on Thursday, "claiming a Siri feature that allows fourth-generation Apple TV users to rewatch a portion of video with closed captioning copies its movie companion software."

Timothy B. Lee seems to be back at Ars Technica and he wrote about it too. "It's a problem everyone has had," he said, when "you're watching a movie and don't catch a key bit of dialogue. In September 2015, Apple unveiled a new feature for Apple TV that solves the problem. Users can ask "what did she say?" and Siri will skip back 15 seconds and temporarily enable captions."

Software patents again.

But the bottom line is, patents that oughtn't even be valid (under Alice/Section 101) are actively used to elevate the price of products with GNU and/or Linux in them. Microsoft -- more so than Apple -- does a lot of these patent battles via intermediaries and the mainstream media rarely bothers mentioning that. Instead it's obsessing over "Microsoft loves Linux" and advertising proprietary Microsoft software as if it's a "Linux" thing.

"Microsoft is asking people to pay them for patents, but they won’t say which ones. If a guy walks into a shop and says: “It’s an unsafe neighbourhood, why don’t you pay me 20 bucks and I’ll make sure you’re okay,” that’s illegal. It’s racketeering."

--Mark Shuttleworth



Recent Techrights' Posts

Nothing that Microsoft Lunduke claims or says can be trusted
Nothing that Microsoft Lunduke claims of says can be trusted
How Software Patents Were Viewed or Their General Status Changed Over Time
A rough summary
Datamation, Where I Used to Publish Articles, Appears to Have Been Sold to TechnologyAdvice Only to Become a Slopfarm
I'd prefer to not associate with that site anymore
 
Links 04/10/2025: "Privacy Harm Is Harm", Criticism Outlawed in US
Links for the day
Garmin Uses Linux for Some of the Garmin Products, Now It's Sued by Strava Using Software Patents
Software patents should never have been granted in the first place
Richard Stallman Will Give a Talk in Sweden in 6 Days
Dr. Stallman, despite his battle with cancer is still alive and mentally sharp
FSF Turns 40
We'll be focusing on patent-related topics this weekend
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, October 03, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, October 03, 2025
Gemini Links 04/10/2025: Distro Hopping and "Part Time"
Links for the day
We Are Turning 19 in One Month, FSF Turns 40 in 3 Hours (CET)
For our anniversary next month we still have no concrete plans
Patent Docs (or PatentDocs) Learned the Wrong Lessons From the Death of TypePad
Had they gone ahead with an SSG, they'd become a lot more future-proof
USPTO Patent Bubble Already Imploding, After Decades of Artificial Inflation, Entire Offices Close for Good
we can deduce that financial pressures (lack of "demand" for monopolies) play a role
TikTok is Not Harmless (Being CheeTok in the US Will Advance Orange Agenda)
Social control media isn't "fun and games"; it's a digital weapon that lets hostile groups or nations infiltrate others, then turn them against themselves
Andy Farnell and Helen Plews Explain What "Modern" Tech Does to Old People
Imposing terrible tech "religion" on people is not helping them
Tomorrow the Free Software Foundation (FSF) Turns 40 and Its Web Site is Still Slow Due to DDoS by LLM Slop Bots
For an advocacy group, uptime is important (for its message to remain accessible)
Slopwatch: Google News as a Firehose of LLM Slop About "Linux"
Google News is really bad
Links 03/10/2025: "NPR’s Economics Lessons Come With Neoliberal Spin" and Canada Post at Risk
Links for the day
Gemini Links 03/10/2025: Panic Attacks and Food Adulteration
Links for the day
Links 03/10/2025: Lawyers Caught Using LLM Slop Explain Why They Did It, LibreSSL 4.1.1 and 4.0.1 Released
Links for the day
FSF Board Grew 50% Since Last Year, Has New President, Turns 40 in Two Days
It's a good move for the FSF and - by extension - for software freedom
Links 03/10/2025: Conflicts, Death of TypePad, and TikTok/CheeTok Gives a Boost to Far Right Groups in Europe
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, October 02, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, October 02, 2025
Slopwatch: Linux Journal, Google News, and LinuxSecurity
They carry on polluting the Web with fake articles
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: Kubernetes With FreeBSD and robots.txt
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2025: 'Open' 'AI' Resorting to Gimmicks and Fake Funding, Europe’s ‘Drone Wall’ Discussed
Links for the day
Links 02/10/2025: Brave Passes 100M Users Milestone, Kodak Selling Its Own Film Again
Links for the day
Michael “Monty” Widenius: It Started in 1983 With Richard Stallman (RMS)
The other co-founder of MySQL is a bit notorious for confronting RMS rather viciously
su lisa && rm -rf /home/ibm/power
Novell was ruined by another person from IBM, Ronald Hovsepian
A Record Demand at Microsoft: Demand to Cancel
What we're witnessing is a very ungraceful destruction of XBox
Microsoft is Losing Europe
Hence all the "support" and "discount" offers that are limited to Europe
The Free Software Foundation Starts Fund-raising for 40th Anniversary
New pop-up 2-3 days ahead of the 40th anniversary event
Systemd Breaks Networking in Debian and Microsoft Staff Rushes to Make Face-Saving Excuses in LWN
Microsoft's bluca is already there in the comments, his Microsoft money pays for LWN to let him leave comments early
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 01, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 01, 2025
What the End of XBox Will Look Like: a Fiery Crash
XBox is the next Skype. It won't last much longer. Expect many more layoffs.
Richard Stallman is Going to Finland to Give a Talk Next Thursday
A day later he speaks in Sweden
Gemini Links 02/10/2025: SMTP Pipelining and End of ROOPHLOCH 2025
Links for the day