Microsoft May Indemnify Some Red Hat Linux Users (eWeek) [LWN.net]

eWeek reports that Microsoft may offer patent indemnity to Red Hat customers. ""We would like to strike similar patent deals with all the Linux vendors, but we had to start somewhere. The fact that Novell CEO Ron Hovsepian approached us in this regard made that conversation happen very quickly," Bill Hilf, Microsoft's general manager of platform strategy, told eWEEK in an interview here at IT Forum. But Hilf acknowledged that it is an awkward situation having Microsoft's customers who use Novell's SUSE Linux covered by the covenant not to sue, while those Windows users running Red Hat Linux are not."

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Microsoft May Indemnify Some Red Hat Linux Users (eWeek)

Posted Nov 17, 2006 7:56 UTC (Fri) by frankie (subscriber, #13593) [Link] (3 responses)

They are trying to get money by all Linux users, plain and clean. What's this a new SCO-like operation?

Microsoft May Indemnify Some Red Hat Linux Users (eWeek)

Posted Nov 17, 2006 8:10 UTC (Fri) by proski (guest, #104) [Link] (1 responses)

It looks more like spreading FUD at this stage. Microsoft pretends to be in the position to decide which distros are "legal" and which are not.

Microsoft May Indemnify Some Red Hat Linux Users (eWeek)

Posted Nov 17, 2006 9:42 UTC (Fri) by frankie (subscriber, #13593) [Link]

What was the SCO mission at all, but for spreading FUD? And in that occasion some vedors gave money and credits to SCO, as Novell just is doing. This is exactly the same approach. I wonder why Novell is feeding the troll.

Microsoft May Indemnify Some Red Hat Linux Users (eWeek)

Posted Nov 20, 2006 23:55 UTC (Mon) by khess (guest, #21687) [Link]

This is Microsoft's way of trying to defeat Linux. They are going to play on the fears of those companies who have adopted Linux. This is just reason 3,064 to hate Microsoft. More tactics that got them in a bunch of trouble before.
This is different than SCO cause Microsoft has the money to fight God himself.
SuSE Linux sucks anyway,...the minute Novell undermined it...I mean bought it, it began to suck just like their crappy old proprietary OS.

Tis a dark day indeed for the Linux community. What the hell else does Microsoft want to own?

Microsoft May Indemnify Some Red Hat Linux Users (eWeek)

Posted Nov 17, 2006 10:30 UTC (Fri) by vblum (guest, #1151) [Link]

"it is an awkward situation having Microsoft's customers who use Novell's SUSE Linux covered by the covenant not to sue, while those Windows users running Red Hat Linux are not."

How about not sueing, then?

Microsoft May Indemnify Some Red Hat Linux Users (eWeek)

Posted Nov 17, 2006 13:42 UTC (Fri) by cpm (guest, #3554) [Link] (1 responses)

I really do not understand why these conversations are even taking place.
Microsoft's stance on software patents is clear, and ALWAYS has been.

"If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of today's
ideas were invented and had taken out patents, the industry would be at a
complete standstill today. ...
The solution is patenting as much as we can.
A future startup with no patents of its own will be forced to pay whatever
price the giants choose to impose. That price might be high. Established
companies have an interest in excluding future competitors."

--Bill Gates, from internal Microsoft corp Memo.

As quoted by Fred Warshofsky in "Patent Wars" circa 1994, and
again by Lawrence Lessig at his keynote to OSCON back in '02
which can be read here;
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/policy/2002/08/15/lessig....

In short, Microsoft views patents as (amongst other things) a club
with which to beat competitors into submission. Last I checked, this
was contrary to the 'intention' of patent and trademark law. However,
no effective action has been taken to curb Microsoft's tendancy to behave
in this manner.

I repeat no effective action has been taken. Ever. Yes, there have been a
few minor wrist slaps over the years, and they have paid out monies and
other compensations to settle lawsuits provided none of the participants
disclose the details, but at the end of the day, , , well, their actions
tell the whole truth. US Department of Justice rulings notwithstanding.

Standard Oil was broken up over a whole lot less.

Perhaps the US Government has wimped out on Microsoft

Posted Nov 18, 2006 2:15 UTC (Sat) by pr1268 (guest, #24648) [Link]

Standard Oil was broken up over a whole lot less.

And notice how the American government seems to be (not) acting with relative indifference at Microsoft's tactics. Two antitrust lawsuits^[1] later, the US attorney's office is probably thinking they can't take on MS like they were able to take on Standard Oil and AT&T.

I think that's both scary and sad.

^[1]Calling the last MS anti-trust lawsuit a victory for the US Attorney's Office would be a travesty.