Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Says It Will Not Sue GNU/Linux Users, But There's a Snag (Updated)

According to the latest developments, Microsoft's threats are an attempt to strike more Novell-type deals, not prepare for any lawsuits.

...Microsoft said it wants to create more arrangements that mirror the company's deal with Linux distributor Novell.


Back when we ran a different poll on this site, the large majority (roughly 80-90%, among hundreds) said that other distributors should not engage with Microsoft in a Novell-like deal.

SJVN weighs in on the matter. He does not really buy Microsoft's argument, according to his latest analysis (do not mind a few inaccuracies, which I pointed out to him).

While Microsoft professes a preference to license rather than litigate, its record indicates otherwise. On Feb. 22, 2007, a jury awarded a $1.52 billion patent judgment in favor of Alcatel-Lucent against Microsoft over the Redmond, Wash., company's use of MP3 codices. This was the largest patent award in history. In the Eolas case, Microsoft was also found guilty in a $521 million patent infringement ruling over how Internet Explorer handled embedded content.


So, might we expect Microsoft to be putting on a poker face?

Update: it is worth adding SJVN's argument that this move from Microsoft is just a deja vu, going back to 2004.

With that comment, Microsoft declared war against Linux and open source yesterday...Oh wait. My mistake, Ballmer made that attack in November 2004 .

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