04.15.08
Novell Part of the Software Patents Problem, Not Its Solution
About a year ago, Novell joined forced with the EFF. It needed to give the impression that it was just as concerned as many of us about patents. But meanwhile, Novell advocates the very same thing it purports to be fighting.
Novell initiatives
[…]
They are presented with opportunities for patents and papers and to participate in Standards Bodies with an exposure to a worldwide platform. They closely work with the corporate L&D function to provide management development programs for the managers.
[…]
Patent program—They have been aggressively building up their patent portfolio. Currently it exceeds 320 patents, and continues to grow every month with help from dedicated Novell inventors. Novell IDC alone has contributed close to 14 patents to this existing patent pool.
Bravo, Novell. Everyone is very impressed. Not.
Meanwhile, what have we in the news? Another company attacks its rivals using patents of course.
Seagate Technology, the largest maker of computer hard drives, made a pre-emptive strike against an emerging competitor on Monday when it filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing STEC Inc. of patent infringement.
Also from news, watch how 4G technology is already being arranged in a discriminatory way — discriminatory in the sense that Free software players seem to be excluded.
The companies involved - Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, NEC, NextWave Wireless, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, and Sony Ericsson - have all agreed to a framework based around fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing, which should prevent the kind of ongoing patent spats which dogged 3G technologies.
What would be the terms of use to those who haven’t things to ‘license’? Must everyone put development on the ice and organise piles of papers in order to merely participate in communication? Recall OpenMoko’s dilemma. Since when are protocols requiring software patents and has nobody learned from past miseries?
The notion of patents becoming an inherent or essential part of a standard is something to learn from at least based on precedence. The same type of principles apply to a variety of things including Microsoft’s taxoperability program and OOXML, which is, whether we accept it or not, a patent trap, among many other things. █
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.
cuss said,
April 16, 2008 at 4:19 am
” But meanwhile, Novell advocates the very same thing it purports to be fighting.”
Pffff…
“Red Hat to fund free patents for open source”
http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/opensource/0,3800004943,39151281,00.htm
“Bravo, Novell. Everyone is very impressed. Not.”
Still waiting for Red Hat to disclose how many of OIN’s 320+ patents they have contributed…
Note: comment has been flagged for arriving from a known (eet), pseudonymous, nymshifting, abusive Internet troll that posts from open proxies and relays around the world.
cuss said,
April 16, 2008 at 4:20 am
“But meanwhile, Novell advocates the very same thing it purports to be fighting.”
Pffff…
“Red Hat to fund free patents for open source”
http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/opensource/0,3800004943,39151281,00.htm
“Bravo, Novell. Everyone is very impressed. Not.”
Still waiting for Red Hat to disclose how many of OIN’s 320+ patents they have contributed…
Note: comment has been flagged for arriving from a known (eet), pseudonymous, nymshifting, abusive Internet troll that posts from open proxies and relays around the world.
Logan said,
April 16, 2008 at 9:37 am
You completely misunderstood Novell. They are leading the way, man. They have the vision. They contribute the most. And they know how to stay legal. Linux without tax is stealing.
They also know that Linux isn’t going nowhere without adopting all Microsoft’s technologies. And they have the moral high ground. This is very important, see here:
http://zonker.opensuse.org/2008/04/15/is-opensolaris-going-nowhere
CoolGuy said,
April 16, 2008 at 10:57 am
I suppose M$ is going no where without Linux. They are getting PWNED real big.
Only thing that comes out of M$ is just PR nowadays and paper launches. Their products are broken beyond any hope.
Roy Schestowitz said,
April 16, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Contributing to OIN is one thing. Cross-licensing in an exclusionary way (Linux technology, but only for Novell) with a convicted monopolist that then uses this for extortion is another thing.