Samsung latest to buy Linux patent protection from Microsoft

Stan Beer
Thursday, 19 April 2007 21:07

IT Industry - Strategy

Samsung Electronics has followed in the footsteps of Novell and Fuji Xerox and signed a patent agreement with Microsoft which indemnifies the Korean electronics giant from any possible Linux patent infringement claims that Microsoft believes it could lodge.

Microsoft is infuriating the open source community by broadcasting its belief that Linux violates patents that the software company holds. Critics are calling the Microsoft claims absurd and view them as an attempt to frighten Linux customers away from the rival open source operating system.

The problem for Linux advocates is that a number of vendors are buying into Microsoft's claims, the first of which was Suse Linux vendor Novell, which agreed to pay Microsoft $40 million late last year for protection against patent infringement claims. The open source community is worried that vendors who pay Microsoft protection money are giving defacto credibility to Microsoft's patent claims which are untested and unproven.

The deal between Samsung and Microsoft is described as a broad patent cross licensing agreement. Through the agreement, Samsung will obtain access to Microsoft patents that may be practiced in a range of Samsung’s existing and future product lines, such as computer products, set-top-boxes, digital media players, camcorders, televisions, printers, and home appliances.

The part of the agreement that will upset Linux users is described in Samsung's media release about the deal: "In these product lines, Samsung and its distributors and customers may utilize Microsoft’s patents in Samsung’s products with proprietary software and Samsung will also obtain coverage from Microsoft for its customers’ use of certain Linux-based products."

In return Microsoft will gain access to Samsung’s large patent portfolio relating to digital media and computer related inventions, for its existing and future products.

Each company has agreed to pay the other party money for the use of each others' patents, although unlike the case with Novell, the sums are undisclosed.

With Microsoft continuing to make claims of holding patents related to the Linux operating system and hinting that Linux users may be liable at some stage to legal action from the company, the software giant has lit a slow fuse leading to a potential powder keg that threatens to erupt between itself and Linux supporters.