While we wrote previously “Novell paid Microsoft 40 million to prevents patent law-suits. Microsoft there already acknowledge that patents would intervene its own innovation.”. The release of an IRC chatlog [text] seems to suggest that the grounds of the need for that patent are even less genuine that thought before.
Reading from the transcript, the 40 million was made up with the number of patents Microsoft was holding and their revenue stream compared to Novell. Especially since Nat asserts that none of the technical Novell employees was consulted and Novell has stated that no infrigment exists, it has all sign of a mob-collection. You can talk abuse if the relevance of patents themselves doesn’t matter anymore but just that you are a big company with many of them.
Is Microsoft just buying “artificial examples” of IP infrigment in order to claim that Linux has IP infrigment of Microsoft Software Patents? How wrong can Software patents go? Or to quote a response to the IRC chat with BMO:
” I think people have overreacted to this deal. I guess because it involves the words “Microsoft” and “patents”
“BECAUSE, NAT, WE’VE GOT A FUCKING LAWSUIT THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR OVER THREE FUCKING YEARS ASSERTING THAT THERE IS FUCKING INFRINGING IP IN LINUX AND IT HAS BEEN NOTHING MORE THAN VACUOUS STATEMENTS BACKED UP BY ABSOLUTELY NOTHING SINCE FUCKING 2003! AND NOW YOU IDIOTS SIGNED A FUCKING CONTRACT THAT IS BEING SPUN BY MICROSOFT THAT THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH INFRINGING IP IN LINUX! WELL, FUCK YOU! WHERE THE FUCK HAS NOVELL BEEN FOR THE PAST THREE AND A HALF YEARS? I FUCKING SWEAR THAT HOVESEPIAN CAN FUCKING MESS UP MAKING A FUCKING PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH!”
I hope that’s plain enough.
Goddamn, they _still_ do not get it.
Illustrating the outrage, many developers have already signed a protest letter you can undersign too. Undoubtly there will be a follow-up.
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