12.13.07
(Corporate) Life and Death Hinged on Patents
One patent case that we have followed quite thoroughly involves Nokia and Qualcomm, where an actual embargo is the current outcome [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18]. That is a very severe action that brings benefits to no-one. It is a punishment without winners. Meanwhile, no resolution has been approached.
The ITC, which determines whether imports unfairly injure U.S. companies, must now decide if it will uphold Luckern’s decision. The agency has said it aims to reach a decision by March 12, 2008.
In other news,Samsung gets sued by Sharp over patents.
Sharp claims that LCD modules and TVs made by Samsung infringe three patents it has in South Korea.
It is worth adding that Samsung should now be seen as a Microsoft sidler. Not only has it been involved with Microsoft in recent years, but it also unveiled a new collaboration with Microsoft yesterday. Let’s not forget its Linux patent deal with Microsoft, which Microsoft uses against GNU/Linux.
At the end of the day, as frustrating as software patents can be, remember that there are far worst examples. The video presents a protest.
Consider the pharmaceutical case a situation where patents actually kill — a situation where commoditisation would be more humane than monetary lust. █
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.