Bonum Certa Men Certa

Patent Lawyer in Microsoft's Defense on GNU GPLv3 Issues

Hmm... an article quoting an attorney who argues Microsoft is immune to GPLv3. To quote the less pro-Microsoft parts:

These [Linux] partnerships, in some cases, restrict the freedoms normally associated with the use and distribution of open source software.

To combat this strategy, the Free Software Foundation (FSF), authors of the General Public License (the open-source license under which most future open-source applications are expected to be distributed), have included new provisions in the third version of this licence that are designed to turn such patent-protection deals to the advantage of the open-source community.

[...]

"If you ever have to defend your patent in court, you have to prove that there wasn't any prior art. The other party is likely to cite similar ideas to your patent to disprove it. It's possible some could be struck down.

"These patents are worth more to Microsoft challenged than unchallenged," she added.


I have spent a quarter of an hour trying to identify ties (if any exist) between the individual/firm and Microsoft. No strong evidence can be found, so they might as well get the benefit of the doubt on this one.

With media placements such as this one from C|Net (published just yesterday), you never really know. This particular one comes from a business that sells Windows products. It takes cheap shots at Linux laptops which threaten the business and C|Net offers this FUD some room. This happened a lot in the past. The EU, ODF, GPL, and Linux got criticized in C|Net, usually by well-know Microsoft lobbyists such as CompTIA.

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