05.27.11

Gemini version available ♊︎

Microsoft’s Android Extortion Gets Price Tags

Posted in GNU/Linux, Kyocera Mita, LG, Linspire, Microsoft, Patents, Samsung, SLES/SLED, Xandros at 11:17 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Using software patents, Microsoft turns Linux into its own cash cow whilst also making it more expensive

Case with dollars

Summary: Techrights’ fight against ‘Linux tax’ from Microsoft is getting a lot more attention this Friday

“BOYCOTT NOVELL” was all about stopping Microsoft tax on GNU/Linux. More people are beginning to wake us and realise that our cause was all along on target, as several distributions of GNU/Linux which paid Microsoft for this ‘privilege’ simply went extinct (Xandros' price was $50 for Microsoft patents). Our goal was to ensure that people/companies do not become dependent on Microsoft-taxed distributions, as that would simply serve Microsoft’s goal of making GNU/Linux its own cash cow. SUSE, Turbolinux, and Linspire were also part of this problem and all those companies went into the ashtray of history. There are more such companies, but they sell hardware, not purely software.

Everyone appears to have just ‘discovered’ that “HTC Pays Microsoft $5 Per Android Phone” and there is already a lot of coverage about it. Quoting The Register:

Buy an HTC smartphone and $5 of what you spent on it goes to Microsoft – even if you’ve just bought an Android device.

So says Citi analyst Walter Pritchard in a note sent out to investors today, according to Business Insider.

Microsoft announced the royalty payment deal – the result of a legal settlement – last year, but the amount the software giant receives was not made public. MS has alleged Android infringes its intellectual property, and has other smartphone vendors in its sights.

Pritchard reckons Microsoft is pursuing other Android handset makers for a royalty of $7.50-12.50 per device. HTC clearly got of relatively lightly by settling Microsoft’s claims out of court.

[...]

Microsoft can’t be too forceful. If can’t afford to overly annoy those vendors who’re also selling phones based on its Windows Phone OS – they might just drop it, in a huff. Or they may trade lower royalties for a stronger commitment to WinPho – something Microsoft needs far more than even a few hundreds of millions of dollars in royalty payments.

Saumsung, LG, and Kyocera Mita also pay Microsoft for Android. There might be more such companies, perhaps not prominent ones though. Faced with a price tag, people act surprised about it even though our site has highlighted this issue since 2007 when Samsung signed the first such deal and in order to discourage similar deals we called for a boycott. The bottom line is, we do have a problem here, but it is not a new problem. We even found one anti-Linux propagandist writing: “This is just fraud. I really like HTC phones with their Sense interface but I have a Galaxy S II on order and I will not buy any HTC phone again while they give in to Microsoft’s blackmail.”

According to other news from today, Lodsys wants to go after Android developers. “Patent holding company Lodsys caused a stir recently when it demanded money from iOS developers using in-app payments,” says this report, “something it holds a patent for. Now it appears that Android developers could be next in line for a stern email from the firm.

“Android Community has spotted one developer who is claiming to have received a request for payment in relation to integrating in-app payments into an Android app. If true, it could stir up another hornet’s nest of anger in the development community.”

“Saumsung, LG, and Kyocera Mita also pay Microsoft for Android.”This is actually not news and we alluded to it before. Apple, unlike Google, is a patent aggressor, so it is not the same situation for Android and Apple’s hypeOS. Interestingly enough, Microsoft’s ally Nokia is also giving a hard time to Apple. How long before Microsoft uses Nokia to sue Android distributors too? Nokia has given hints about it. Microsoft’s strategy is to tax Linux from as many directions as possible. It’s blackmail [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7], so regulators should step in to intervene.

“That’s extortion and we should call it what it is. To say, as Ballmer did, that there is undisclosed balance sheet liability, that’s just extortion and we should refuse to get drawn into that game.”

Mark Shuttleworth

Share in other sites/networks: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Reddit
  • email

Decor ᶃ Gemini Space

Below is a Web proxy. We recommend getting a Gemini client/browser.

Black/white/grey bullet button This post is also available in Gemini over at this address (requires a Gemini client/browser to open).

Decor ✐ Cross-references

Black/white/grey bullet button Pages that cross-reference this one, if any exist, are listed below or will be listed below over time.

Decor ▢ Respond and Discuss

Black/white/grey bullet button If you liked this post, consider subscribing to the RSS feed or join us now at the IRC channels.

DecorWhat Else is New


  1. Links 20/03/2023: Curl 8.0.0/1 and CloudStack 4.18.0.0 LTS

    Links for the day



  2. Standard Life (Phoenix Group Holdings): Three Weeks to Merely Start Investigating Pension Fraud (and Only After Repeated Reminders From the Fraud's Victims)

    As the phonecall above hopefully shows (or further elucidates), Standard Life leaves customers in a Kafkaesque situation, bouncing them from one person to another person without actually progressing on a fraud investigation



  3. Standard Life Paper Mills in Edinburgh

    Standard Life is issuing official-looking financial papers for companies that then use that paperwork to embezzle staff



  4. Pension Fraud Investigation Not a High Priority in Standard Life (Phoenix Group Holdings)

    The 'Open Source' company where I worked for nearly 12 years embezzled its staff; despite knowing that employees were subjected to fraud in Standard Life's name, it doesn't seem like Standard Life has bothered to investigate (it has been a fortnight already; no progress is reported by management at Standard Life)



  5. Links 20/03/2023: Tails 5.11 and EasyOS 5.1.1

    Links for the day



  6. Links 20/03/2023: Amazon Linux 2023 and Linux Kernel 6.3 RC3

    Links for the day



  7. IRC Proceedings: Sunday, March 19, 2023

    IRC logs for Sunday, March 19, 2023



  8. An Update on Sirius 'Open Source' Pensiongate: It's Looking Worse Than Ever

    It's starting to look more and more like pension providers in the UK, including some very major and large ones, are aiding criminals who steal money from their workers under the guise of "pensions"



  9. Services and Users TRApped in Telescreen-Running Apps

    TRApp, term that lends its name to this article, is short for "Telescreen-Running App". It sounds just like "trap". Any similarity is not purely coincidental.



  10. Links 19/03/2023: Release of Libreboot 20230319 and NATO Expanding

    Links for the day



  11. Great Things Brewing

    We've been very busy behind the scenes this past week; we expect some good publications ahead



  12. Links 19/03/2023: LLVM 16.0.0 and EasyOS Kirkstone 5.1 Releases

    Links for the day



  13. IRC Proceedings: Saturday, March 18, 2023

    IRC logs for Saturday, March 18, 2023



  14. Links 18/03/2023: Many HowTos, Several New Releases

    Links for the day



  15. Links 18/03/2023: Tor Browser 12.0.4 and Politics

    Links for the day



  16. Links 18/03/2023: Docker is Deleting Free Software Organisations

    Links for the day



  17. IRC Proceedings: Friday, March 17, 2023

    IRC logs for Friday, March 17, 2023



  18. New Talk: Richard Stallman Explains His Problem With Rust (Trademark Restrictions), Openwashing (Including Linux Kernel), Machine Learning, and the JavaScript Trap

    Richard Stallman's talk is now available above (skip to 18:20 to get to the talk; the volume was improved over time, corrected at the sender's end)



  19. Links 17/03/2023: CentOS Newsletter and News About 'Mr. UNIX' Ken Thompson Hopping on GNU/Linux

    Links for the day



  20. The European Patent Office's Central Staff Committee Explains the Situation at the EPO to the 'Yes Men' of António Campinos (Who is Stacking All the Panels)

    The EPO’s management is lying to staff (even right to their faces!) and it is actively obstructing attempts to step back into compliance with the law; elected staff representatives have produced detailed documents that explain the nature of some of the problems they’re facing



  21. Links 17/03/2023: Linux 6.2.7 and LibreSSL 3.7.1 Released

    Links for the day



  22. GNU/Linux in Honduras: 10% Market Share? (Updated)

    As per the latest statistics



  23. Links 17/03/2023: Update on John Deere’s Ongoing GPL Violations and PyTorch 2.0

    Links for the day



  24. IRC Proceedings: Thursday, March 16, 2023

    IRC logs for Thursday, March 16, 2023



  25. RMS: A Tour of Malicious Software, With a Typical Cell Phone as Example

    Tonight in Europe or this afternoon in America Richard M. Stallman (RMS), who turned 70 yesterday, gives a talk



  26. Skyfall for Sirius 'Open Source': A Second Pension Provider Starts to Investigate Serious (Sirius) Abuses

    Further to yesterday's update on Sirius ‘Open Source’ and its “Pensiongate” we can gladly report some progress following escalation to management; this is about tech and “Open Source” employees facing abuse at work, even subjected to crimes



  27. NOW: Pensions Lying, Obstructing and Gaslighting Clients After Months of Lies, Delays, and Cover-up (Amid Pension Fraud)

    The “Pensiongate” of Sirius ‘Open Source’ (the company which embezzled/robbed many workers for years) helps reveal the awful state of British pension providers, which are in effect enabling the embezzlement to carry on while lying to their clients



  28. Links 16/03/2023: War Escalations and More

    Links for the day



  29. Links 16/03/2023: OpenSSH 9.3 Released and WordPress 6.2 Release Candidate 2, Lapdock News

    Links for the day



  30. IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, March 15, 2023

    IRC logs for Wednesday, March 15, 2023


RSS 64x64RSS Feed: subscribe to the RSS feed for regular updates

Home iconSite Wiki: You can improve this site by helping the extension of the site's content

Home iconSite Home: Background about the site and some key features in the front page

Chat iconIRC Channel: Come and chat with us in real time

Recent Posts