Sam Varghese
Monday, 02 June 2008 23:33
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
The details of that deal are still unknown. At the time, it was
announced that it involved "a broad collaboration agreement based on a set of technical, business, marketing and intellectual property commitments".
Anyone who knows anything about Microsoft would shudder when the words "IP commitments" are mentioned.
If you
search in the US patent office database for patents which bear the name Xandros, the result is a big zero. The deal with Xandros is all about Microsoft's patents; the company has repeatedly stated that, if needed, it will use its IP to protect its marketshare.
Last year we had a good deal of fear, uncertainty and doubt being spread by various Microsoft functionaries about Linux infringing X or Y number of patents which belong to the Redmond-based software behemoth.
The use of patents by Microsoft as a weapon against Linux is supposed to be nullified by the General Public License version 3.0 which was issued on May 31.
The Free Software Foundation went easy on Novell - the first Linux reseller to sign a deal with Microsoft, in November 2006 - making it possible for Novell to continue to distribute software covered under GPLv3 as part of its deal with Microsoft.
But the GPLv3 has never been tested in court. And if anything does go to court, it will take more than a few years to play out. The SCO Corporation started legal action against IBM in 2003 - and it is still going, five years later.
No, this kind of patent deal works through the fear factor. Once there is a sufficient large number of people using the software that is susceptible to the FUD factor, the company which has IP in the mix begins a campaign through issuing warnings of one kind or the other.
