Bonum Certa Men Certa

What About the EC Ruling?

We all may be looking in the wrong direction here, what if this deal with Novell is Microsoft's way of legitimizing the need for licensing of their "IP" to achieve interoperability and undermine the EC ruling?



As you may know, Microsoft is appealing the EC ruling, and it will take months for it to play out. In the ruling, Microsoft was ordered to provide necessary documentation to allow rivals to access MS protocols. Essentially, Microsoft has not complied with the judgement and provided the necessary technical documentation to allow for interoperating with their servers and desktops. In fact, Microsoft has attempted to submit license terms, which included the charging of royalties, to the court in response to this judgement, terms which were rejected.

Perhaps the hope is that the Novell interoperability deal says to the EC that MS' claims that their Interoperability Licensing terms for use of their Intellectual Property are indeed reasonable and non-discriminatory, and enough to at least reduce the severity of the ruling.

As noted in this article, Microsoft has negotiated directly with companies in the past to undermine the EC rulings, including Novell.
He noted that Microsoft has undercut support for the EC's decision by cutting deals with individual vendors. "Microsoft reached a private agreement with Sun [Microsystems], so Sun dropped out of the case," he said. "And it reached a private agreement with Novell, so Novell dropped out of the case."

[editor note: the linked/quoted article is from Apr 7, 2005 - the "private agreement" referred to in the quote is not the recent deal of November 2006]
Ask yourself, why would Novell approach MS over interoperability when the EC ruling is forcing them to hand over the info? Why would Novell be publicizing benefits of the deal in areas of Europe where software patents aren't even valid? Microsoft is paying Novell off to help them with the EC Antitrust case.

Novell now legitimizes Microsofts position that developers, even if they write their own code (samba), still should license and pay royalties to Microsoft for their "IP" (specs, I suppose) to be able to interoperate with Windows. Microsoft does not want to publish that information so that just anyone can interoperate with Windows without paying royalties, Novell helps their argument now.

If true, MS will get off very cheap if they get the case reversed or reduced (compared to what they payed Novell, plus they get royalties!). Brilliant, really.

Just the other day, Microsoft indicated that they would prefer to license rather than litigate, perhaps with Novell's help once again they will be able to license rather than comply with the EC ruling.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Amid Online Reports of XBox Sales Collapsing, Mass Layoffs in More Teams, and Windows Making Things Worse (Admission of Losses, Rumours About XBox Canceled as a Hardware Unit)...
Windows has loads of issues, also as a gaming platform
 
Consent & Debian's illegitimate constitution
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
The Time Our Server Host Died in a Car Accident
If Debian has internal problems, then they need to be illuminated and then tackled, at the very least in order to ensure we do not end up with "Deadian"
China's New 'IT' Rules Are a Massive Headache for Microsoft
On the issue of China we're neutral except when it comes to human rights issues
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, March 27, 2024
WeMakeFedora.org: harassment decision, victory for volunteers and Fedora Foundations
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 27/03/2024: Terrorism Grows in Africa, Unemployment in Finland Rose Sharply in a Year, Chinese Aggression Escalates
Links for the day
Links 27/03/2024: Ericsson and Tencent Layoffs
Links for the day
Links 27/03/2024: BBC Resorts to CG Cruft, Akamai Blocking Blunders in Piracy Shield
Links for the day
Android Approaches 90% of the Operating Systems Market in Chad (Windows Down From 99.5% 15 Years Ago to Just 2.5% Right Now)
Windows is down to about 2% on the Web-connected client side as measured by statCounter
Sainsbury's: Let Them Eat Yoghurts (and Microsoft Downtimes When They Need Proper Food)
a social control media 'scandal' this week
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Windows/Client at Microsoft Falling Sharply (Well Over 10% Decline Every Quarter), So For His Next Trick the Ponzi in Chief Merges Units, Spices Everything Up With "AI"
Hiding the steep decline of Windows/Client at Microsoft?
Free technology in housing and construction
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
We Need Open Standards With Free Software Implementations, Not "Interoperability" Alone
Sadly we're confronting misguided managers and a bunch of clowns trying to herd us all - sometimes without consent - into "clown computing"
Microsoft's Collapse in the Web Server Space Continued This Month
Microsoft is the "2%", just like Windows in some countries
Links 26/03/2024: Inflation Problems, Strikes in Finland
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Losing Children, Carbon Tax Discussed
Links for the day
Mark Shuttleworth resigns from Debian: volunteer suicide and Albania questions unanswered, mass resignations continue
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 26/03/2024: 6,000 Layoffs at Dell, Microsoft “XBox is in Real Trouble as a Hardware Manufacturer”
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/03/2024: Microsofters Still Trying to 'Extend' Gemini Protocol
Links for the day
Look What IBM's Red Hat is Turning CentOS Into
For 17 years our site ran on CentOS. Thankfully we're done with that...
The Julian Paul Assange Verdict: The High Court Has Granted Assange Leave to Appeal Extradition to the United States, Decision Adjourned to May 20th Pending Assurances
The decision is out
The Microsoft and Apple Antitrust Issues Have Some But Not Many Commonalities
gist of the comparison to Microsoft
ZDNet, Sponsored by Microsoft for Paid-for Propaganda (in 'Article' Clothing), Has Added Pop-Up or Overlay to All Pages, Saying "813 Partners Will Store and Access Information on Your Device"
Avoiding ZDNet may become imperative given what it has turned into
Julian Assange Verdict 3 Hours Away
Their decision is due to be published at 1030 GMT
People Who Cover Suicide Aren't Suicidal
Assange didn't just "deteriorate". This deterioration was involuntary and very much imposed upon him.
Overworking Kills
The body usually (but not always) knows best
Former Red Hat Chief (CEO), Who Decided to Leave the Company Earlier This Month, Talks About "Cloud Company Red Hat" to CNBC
shows a lack of foresight and dependence on buzzwords
IRC Proceedings: Monday, March 25, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, March 25, 2024
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Discord Does Not Make Money, It's Spying on People and Selling Data/Control (38% is Allegedly Controlled by the Communist Party of China)
a considerable share exists
In At Least Two Nations Windows is Now Measured at 2% "Market Share" (Microsoft Really Does Not Want People to Notice That)
Ignore the mindless "AI"-washing
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Still Has Hundreds of Thousands of Simultaneously-Online Unique Users
The scale of IRC