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Quick Mention: Linus Torvalds “Really Don't Know” About the Legal Issues

A month ago we argued that what makes Linus Torvalds such an excellent programmer is the fact that he does not get distracted by 'politics' and gossip. He finally appears to admit that he does not get involved with the legal issues and he also acknowledge the fact that a lot of money is being used against his work (the Linux kernel). From this new interview (via DisinformationWeek:

InformationWeek: Do you think there is any way Microsoft, patent holders, or lawyers can take direct aim at the kernel development process and impede it?

Torvalds: I really don't know. I don't think they can impede the technology, and I really don't think there is anything real behind that whole intellectual property FUD machine. But nearly infinite amounts of money certainly goes a long way.

I'm again the wrong person to ask. I work on the technology, and I make sure we do that as well as we can (which does include the ways we do it, including things like doing all the copyright certification we do), but I think that when it comes to these issues, you're really talking about marketing and FUD, not so much anything I'm able to really answer.


For reference, relevant past items are appended.

Torvalds on the Novell/Microsoft deal:



Torvalds on Microsoft's patent threats:

Torvalds on the GPL(v3):

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