For the past year, most vocal threats to those using Linux systems have come from Microsoft (and
companies coincidentally run by ex-Microsoft employees). Before that time, the SCO Group, Inc.
spent several years in litigation against major Linux players. Both of those initiatives seem to have
more to do with fear mongering than they do with reality.
Microsoft Versus Linux
As of this writing, Microsoft has announced that Linux has infringed on 235 patents that Microsoft
holds relating to the desktop. What it has not told us are the features that infringe on Microsoft
patents and the identity of the patents. Here are some speculations about why Microsoft has not
made that information public:
Fear is the intent??”The strategy by Microsoft is to get people and companies to pay
Microsoft for their use of Linux, without actually telling them specifically what they are
paying for. The Linux community has always said that they would replace any code that
was shown to impinge on someone else??™s rights. But if Microsoft doesn??™t say what their
property is, the problem can??™t ever be corrected and the fear of lawsuits can remain.
Too many patents??”There are literally thousands of patents relating to computer operating
systems. Many of those patents are held by companies such as IBM, as well as by
some open source providers, such as Red Hat, Inc.
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