11.30.07
Microsoft Zapped by Software Patents; Goldfarb (of BayStar) Speaks About Microsoft Alliance
As further proof of the unhealthy state of patent law in the United States, consider this new story.
A company that was just awarded more than $140 million from Microsoft in a patent-infringement suit has sued the software giant again, this time for alleged infringements in Windows Vista and Office 2007.
[…]
In April 2006, a jury in the U.S. District Court in Eastern Texas found that both Microsoft and Autodesk infringed on those patents, ordering Microsoft to pay $115 million to z4 and Autodesk $18 million.
This is like a game of ping-pong where patent trolls come knocking on the door again and again each time money gets granted. To repeat yesterday’s complaint, the Microsoft ‘axis’ tells the Government that this monopoly should be left alone to commit its sins because “extending restrictive antitrust oversight of the software maker could trigger a glut of needless litigation for already overburdened courts.” (emphasis in this quote is mine)
Speaking of Microsoft and Autodesk, check out the following interview whith Larry Goldfarb, who said he had funded SCO upon Microsoft’s request. He talks about an alliance with Microsoft and also about Autodesk.
Any BayStar connection to Microsoft, as shown again in this video, must be seen as suspicious. There are also links between BayStar and Acacia, which is the first patent troll to attack Linux. █
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.