Microsoft’s Open Source Claim: What Are These Patents Really All About?

Microsoft (MSFT) says free and open source software infringes on 235 of its patents. The real motive for Microsoft's patent volley may be the third version of the General Public License.

But following this patent back and forth (see Techmeme and Fortune article) is a lot like eating a condiment sandwich–it would be much better with some meat. How about some details.

What exactly are these patents about? I can look at Ubuntu (see right) and say "hey this is Windows-ish." Is that a patent problem?

Meanwhile, I've read the official Microsoft line but am left with a few outstanding things that make me go hmm.

• Did these execs speak out of turn–or was every last sentence planned?
• What's the motive–there has to be more than the GPL?
• Why bring up all this patent stuff now–especially since Microsoft has no motivation to sue–yet?

Without some real information on these patents that open source is trouncing it's a case of patent he said, she said. Like Adrian Kingsley-Hughes notes though, I'd be surprised if there weren't patent problems. This patent banter is leaving me hungry–much like a condiment sandwich.

Comments

[Malkiel:]

Actually, the GNOME Ubuntu desktop you show above is the version that looks and works like the Apple Mac OS (the bottom taskbar has no equivalent in Windows and works like the Mac "dock"). It's the KDE Kubuntu desktop version of Ubuntu that looks and works like Windows. And there are other Linux OS out there that are deliberately made to look and work even more like Windows. But as articles on CNET pointed out, Microsoft softwares may be in violation of 3 or 4 times as many patents belonging to other entities, so it seems unlikely they can ever pull the legal trigger without suffering retaliation.

2007 May 15 10:51 AM

[Alan Williams:]

This is just another scare tactic from Microsoft.

We are going to sue Linux Distributors so don't go switching away from Windows to desktop Linux and get caught in the crossfire.

Microsoft, through Steve Ballmer, has been openly accusing Linux users of patent violations, for 2 or 3 years now, without actually saying which patents have been violated. Since they have never disclosed the specific violations they have probably lost the rights to defend those patents in question.

Given the recent Supreme Court ruling on Software Patents, the patents were probably indefensible in the first place.

2007 May 15 03:00 PM