05.22.08
Roundup: Nonsensical Intellectual Monopolies Du Jour
This is just a very quick roundup that serves as a reminder of the “Alice in Wonderland” state we must cope with (or fight against).
Barracuda Versus Software Patents
Linux.com has a new video interview with the CEO of Barracuda. I’ve asked politely for an Ogg Theora version in the comments (they typically produce one for everything they publish). Either way, here’s the summary:
It’s unusual for companies engaged in patent litigation to comment on how the fight is going. But Barracuda Networks CEO Dean Drako has openly sought FOSS community support for his company’s defense again a Trend Micro lawsuit that, while filed against his company, is really about ClamAV. We’ve written about this before, as have others. In this video, however, we’ll let Dean tell you in his own words what’s going on — and why.
We previously wrote about this case in [1, 2]. External links:
- Trend Micro patent claim provokes FOSS community, leads to boycott
- Call for action: Boycott Trend Micro
Intellectual Monopolies Versus FOSS
Dana Blankenhorn has this good new post.
The purpose of copyright and patent rights is not the permanent enrichment of authors, inventors, and their descendents or assigned corporate parents. It is to provide an incentive for the creation and distribution of new work.
Mighty Mouse Versus Apple
Well, isn’t this unfortunate?
Apple sued over Mighty Mouse”
[...]
Apple licensed the right to use the name Mighty Mouse from US broadcaster CBS, which owns the name through its rights to the 1940s cartoon show - Mighty Mouse.
How careful must one be with words? Here is another article about this.
Landover, MD-based Man and Machine (M&M) has filed a lawsuit against Apple and CBS for their use of the term “Mighty Mouse.” Apple uses the name to describe its computer mouse and CBS uses it for a cartoon character.
Weeks ago we saw Microsoft fighting the Dutch dictionary in court. It won. █
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.