Bonum Certa Men Certa

IDG Spin: Microsoft a Victim in Patent Racketeering, Loves Open Source

Summary: More pro-Microsoft reality distortion from IDG, which has Microsoft as a client

The "OOXML Paoli" story has generated a great deal of response from the public [1, 2, 3]. Almost nobody defends Microsoft's position. It all originates in the Microsoft-funded IDG, which helped Microsoft claim that it had changes its attitude for the better. As one sceptic put it (IDG playing "good cop, bad cop"):



Yet, according to Paoli, that's all changed now.

The company made the mistake of equating all open source technology with Linux "very early on," he said. "We understand our mistake."

Isn't that nice?

One can't help but wonder, however, how much of a mistake the company would think it was if it weren't for Linux and open source's growing market credentials.


For those who do not remember, Paoli ought to know better than anyone that Microsoft has not changed for the better. The OOXML corruption is something he had a lot to do with and given his high position in this abusive monopolist he must also know about his colleagues' patent extortion, which qualifies as racketeering against Open Source [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] (and also proprietary software). Jeremy from Linux Questions responded as follows:

First, the article is correct: we all do remember the “Linux is a cancer” comments made oh so long ago. Unfortunately for Microsoft though, they have much to atone for. It’s not just the vituperative comments made in 2001, but the continued incursions since: the 235 Linux patent violations, the OOXML debacle, the HTC and TomTom licensing issues – the list goes on and on. Does that mean that Microsoft can’t change its ways? Of course not, but it does mean that many in the Open Source ecosystem are going to be a bit circumspect. I continue to believe that the odds of Microsoft truly changing while Ballmer is still CEO are minuscule, but I could be wrong.


Now, watch IDG spinning again. Microsoft is known to be battling over 50 patent cases and here we have Julie Bort describing Microsoft as a victim, despite all the context. Bort writes for the Microsoft Subnet and the Fauxopen Source sections at IDG. Now she passes even more Microsoft apologists' talking points by suggesting that "Microsoft's own patent lawsuits [are] merely covering its costs". For perspective:

In recent years, Microsoft has earned the reputation of being the aggressor in patent infringement lawsuits. I think this is overstated, stemming from a lot of loud mouth claims by its top executives, the uproar over the Tom Tom case in 2009 and that its other suits have been fairly high profile. But they have also been relatively sparse.

In 2010, so far, we have had the much ballyhooed Microsoft case against Salesforce.com (in which both parties settled, with Salesforce agreeing to pay Microsoft an undisclosed sum). But mostly, Microsoft announced cross licensing agreements, such as one from HTC for Android. We had a similar one from Panasonic for exFAT and one with Amazon for Kindle. A less flashy deal was a licensing agreement with Tuxera, the Finnish company that created an open source driver for Microsoft NTFS (the NTFS-3G) for exFAT. The Tuxera deal likely won't generate tons of cash, but it stems from the fact that Microsoft managed to get exFAT embedded as part of the new SDXC specification. The Redmond company will collect royalties (perhaps a few cents each) on all SDXC memory sticks, and that could add up.

Even so, when it comes to patent infringement, Microsoft is more likely to be the victim than the bully -- at least in terms of the number of lawsuits per year.


Watch how she is trying to justify it, as though the extortion is acceptable when Microsoft names not a single patent and pressures Linux vendors to pass their money to Microsoft (based on no evidence). How can one defend the indefensible? Well, it's IDG, so truth does not matter [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. That's why they also publish headlines suggesting that Microsoft "loves" open source. It's deceiving, it's trolling.

Bort asks: "Other than calling payouts "a cost of doing business" what other option does Microsoft have but to try to collect on intellectual property on the one hand, while paying damages with the other?"

“Other than calling payouts "a cost of doing business" what other option does Microsoft have but to try to collect on intellectual property on the one hand, while paying damages with the other?”
      --Julie Bort, IDG
How about working to abolish software patents? As it stands, Microsoft is an active lobbyist for for very same thing it pretends to decry (crocodile tears).

"And if that's the case," concludes Bort, "will we see a Microsoft that becomes more aggressive to collect on intellectual property? I fear so."

She fears so? Didn't she use this whole article to sympathise and defend Microsoft's extortion of "open source" (patent tax)? IDG makes little more sense than Fox 'News'. Fox/Murdoch wants people to believe that Obama is the "anti-Christ", Wikipedia is run by pedophiles, and Wikileaks' founder is a sex offender; IDG wants people to believe that Microsoft's extortion is acceptable and that Microsoft is a friend of "Open Source".

Rupert Murdoch - WEF Davos, 2007
Image from Wikipedia



Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM: Less Than a Month's Severance for Each Decade of Service
Yes, decade!
The EPO, Europe's Largest Patent Office, Admits Outsourcing to Microsoft Slop
Their sole goal is to make more money
The Better the Understanding or the More Nations Understand the Threat Posed by Microsoft, the Faster It'll be Eradicated
We believe that the thing to advocate is self-hosting and Free software... A lack of simplicity or absence of alternatives is a form of vendor lock-in
 
July 2 2025 Would Not be First Big Wave of Microsoft Layoffs Before Major National Holiday
July 2 or 3 mark the start of a very long weekend in the US
IDG's NetworkWorld Seems to Have Just Become LLM Slop
If IDG (now controlled by China) does that in at least one site, why not the rest? Only a matter of time?
Gemini Links 16/06/2025: Free Lunches and Bookmarklet for Mastodon
Links for the day
Gemini Protocol Turns 6 on Friday
Active (online) Gemini capsules are estimated by Lupa at over 3,000
Taking a Lesson From Denmark and Greenland? Iceland Shows New Lows for Windows, All-Time Highs for GNU/Linux
If Microsoft sabotages systems of judges at the Hague (in order to appease the insane man who wanted to invade Greenland), why won't its neighbour Iceland take note?
BetaNews Has Just Deleted Its Latest 'Article' or Got Cracked Again and Restored From Outdated Backup Again
BetaNews seems to be in some serious trouble right now
Microsoft's "FUD-as-a-Service" (Against Linux) Not Functioning Well
This is the kind of contribution companies like Microsoft and Google have to offer to society
Software Freedom is "Activism" Because the Corporate Agenda Revolves Around Bribery, Deceit, and Betrayal
At the end Software Freedom will win because it's on the same side as truth and lawfulness
Links 16/06/2025: EchoLeak and NASA Teaming up With India
Links for the day
A Week of Sunlight
They say transparency is like sunlight to a vampire
"Linux" Sites That Went Astray
there are even worse things than shutdowns
Links 16/06/2025: Climate, Wildfires, Breaches, and Monopolies
Links for the day
Links 16/06/2025: Summer in Finland and Misunderstandings
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 15, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, June 15, 2025
Gemini Links 15/06/2025: Rainy Season and OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Links for the day
Links 15/06/2025: Military Games, Parade, and Actions
Links for the day
Links 15/06/2025: Windows TCO, Openwashing, and Wars
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/06/2025: "AI Fatigue and Crappiness"
Links for the day
When Abusive Law Firms (Working for Microsofters Against Us) Assert That Someone Writing in Social Media About Himself is Confidential Information
There was no reason to throw "GDPR" into 2 SLAPPs; they know it, but the goal was to increase the cost of a Defence and lessen the incentive to challenge the SLAPPs
Microsoft Attack Dogs Against Watchdogs and Guard Dogs in Software
Last year Microsofters hired attack dogs or "guns for hire"
Slop Cannot Replace Domain Expertise
All this "AI" hype (it's not even intelligence, it's all a misnomer, as many of us have insisted all along) will fizzle and be written off as a failed experiment
IBM's Fresh 'PIPs' (Action Before Layoffs)
At times like these, even once-reputable employers resort to PIPs and other procedures/tricks for denial of workers' rights
Microsoft is a Problem Not Just for Denmark
Every country should consider what Denmark is doing, why Denmark is doing it, and then do the same
The Slopfarms' Self Detonation
If more sites like BetaNews go under, then maybe we can still salvage some of the Web
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 14, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, June 14, 2025
Links 14/06/2025: FDA Changes Priorities, Cassette Data Storage From The 1970s
Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/06/2025: Steam Next Fest and Thoughts on Gemini
Links for the day
Site/Datacentre Maintenance Next Week
speed things up
Bulgaria: GNU/Linux Near 10%
The Bulgarian market seems to be changing
I Never Spoke to BetaNews. But BetaNews Wants to Ensure I Never Will, Either.
Sometimes just the reluctance to talk about it can say a great deal
Throwing Money at Lawyers Can't Stop Us (It Never Did)
Even just trying to censor things can result in the opposite of the desired outcome
Online Search or Large Search Engines Aren't Working Anymore
business models that directly compete with interests of Web users
Holidays and Breaks
I've hardly taken any long breaks since I got married
Danish OpenDocument Freedom
"year of Linux"
Links 14/06/2025: Wars and L.A. Distortion Effect
Links for the day
BetaNews Has More or Less Died After Experiments With LLM Slop, Is Linuxsecurity Next?
It doesn't seem like BetaNews knows what it's doing, let alone what it talks about
Gemini Links 14/06/2025: Historic Ada Design and GeminiSpace.Club to Expire
Links for the day
Links 14/06/2025: India Plane Crash and Middle-Eastern War
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 13, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, June 13, 2025