Patent Protection Lovefest, Update 1
The Wall Street Journal published a spot-on article a few days ago about the Novell+Microsoft arrangement.
It’s only available online to subscribers, so I scanned it:
And making the news yesterday, The CEO of Microsoft has straight up said that every (with the exception of Novell/SuSE of course!) linux company, developer, and user is violating Microsoft-held patents, and therefore owes them money.
“Novell pays us some money for the right to tell customers that anybody who uses SUSE Linux is appropriately covered,” Ballmer said. This “is important to us, because [otherwise] we believe every Linux customer basically has an undisclosed balance-sheet liability.”
So basically, we’re all criminals now… due to patents that nobody will name. Talk about Déjà vu, It feels like the SCO saga all over again.
Thank you Novell!
Categorized as Open Source, Technology
“Somehow, ‘I told you so’ just doesn’t quite say it.”
- Will Smith in “I, Robot”
Honestly, does this statement from Steve Ballmer surprise anybody, especially now that he has found a company (Novell) that was stupid enough to make a patent-deal with Microsoft?
I also never trusted Novell, for similar reasons as why I do not trust Microsoft. They are not really an open source company, as their deal with Microsoft proves.
For me, the latest events have pushed me over the edge and I won’t use Mono anymore. C# is a poisoned fruit.
Sun might have its own agenda why they are open sourcing the Java platform and language, but they are opening it the way it should be done, and their users won’t ever have to worry about anything, not now and not in the future.
With Mono, we still have to live with a legal threat, either because we are not a Novell customer or because in five years from now Microsoft refuses to renew that agreement.
Novell should have fought this out instead of providing them with ammunition by signing the patent agreement.
Farewell, Novell. Farewell, Mono.
Thank you Novell!
Why? Novell is legitimizing MIcrosoft’s cliams that Linux users are “stealing” their patents and are therefore criminals. SUSE users are still criminals in M$’s mind, the only difference is they have paid the fines.
Winfried: Switching away from mono for any reason other than liking a different technology more just means you’re letting them win. Will you stop using Linux now because Microsoft is making the same claims against it? I absolutely agree that Novell should have fought this out, but by making a statement that Microsoft’s FUD campaign is effective, you’re not helping anyone. There are plenty of people in the Mono community who are very upset about all this, but we’re going to stick around and fight.
A: Perhaps I suck at this whole ‘sarcasm’ thing…
The Novell deal is meaningless. Overall, Microsoft has given money to Novell for the deal, not the other way around. Wouldn’t you take several hundred million dollars and a license to Microsoft’s patents? I sure would. That kind of deal doesn’t alter the legal status of Mono one iota.
Face it: anybody can sue you. Given that projects like Mono have been around for many years and hardly anything has ever come out of saber rattling like this, I think there is no cause to be worried.
When the Mono project adopts GPL V3, we will truly know there is nothing to worry about.
Thanks for the article Eric! Helped me re-adjust my thinking…