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Microsoft Sues Brazilian Official for Defamation
Posted by
michael
on Sat Jun 19, 2004 06:27 AM
from the truth-hurts dept.
from the truth-hurts dept.
The Importance of writes "Larry Lessig is reporting that Microsoft is threatening a defamation lawsuit against Sergio Amadeu, President of the National Institute of Information Technology (ITI) of Brazil, for comments he has made about Microsoft's business practices, "accusing the company of a 'drug-dealer practice' for offering the operational system Windows to some governments and city administration for digital inclusion programs. 'This
is a trojan horse, a form of securing critical mass to continue constraining the country'." Additionally, "To Amadeu, this will be a decisive year to win the 'strategy of fear, uncertainty and doubt', as he classifies the business model of Microsoft." Microsoft's complaint claims that this is "an excess in freedom of speech and freedom of thought, by means of the dissemination of information." Read a translation of the complaint [PDF] and the original article, "The Penguin Advances [PDF]." Lessig notes that this may be defamation in Brazil, but would not be considered defamation in the United States."
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damn right it's a falsehood (Score:5, Funny)
Calling windows "operational" HAS to be a crime somewhere.
Heh (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Misleading title... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Misleading title... (Score:5, Funny)
Just like announcing a product and actually releasing one.
It's just a vaporware lawsuit.
Parent
Re:Misleading title... (Score:5, Insightful)
However, I don't think MS would have any problem with actually sueing mr. Amadeu if he continues to spread his 'lies'... even if their case looks weak. They might desist though, if such a lawsuit would turn into a publicity nightmare: "We cheerfully crush the ones that oppose us!"
Parent
Re:Misleading title... (Score:5, Interesting)
Even if Microsoft manages to buy some of the press, there is a significant risk that some website like groklaw may emerge and start digging up annoying facts on Microsoft and its business practices.
The question is will Microsoft be smart enough to realize this.
Parent
Re:Misleading title... (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:Misleading title... (Score:5, Insightful)
As someone else pointed out, Ballmer said that "Linux is a cancer" quite recently -- this is hardly worse than "Microsoft uses the business plans of drug dealers".
Parent
Re:Misleading title... (Score:5, Funny)
Which would be freedom, as in, ummmm, speech.
Go figure.
KFG
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Re:Misleading title... (Score:5, Insightful)
The GPL may promote a number of freedoms (at the expense of some others), but freedom-of-speech, in this context (that is, speech <I>about</I> the software, rather than speech <I>containing</I> the software), is pretty much orthoganal to it.
Parent
MS actually DID sue! (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Misleading title... (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, opening the PDF document I see:
To the Honorable Judge of Law of Law from the Criminal Court of the District of Barueri, State of Sao Paulo.
blah blah blah...
"drug dealer practice" offends the most crucial foundations of the rules typifying the felony of defamation, provided at article 21 of the Federal Statute 525-/67
blah blah blah...
Plaintiff demands that the Defendant
blah blah blah...
I dunno, looks like they are suing to me. Actually the "felony" part makes it look more like a criminal charges than a lawsuit, but I don't know Brazilian law.
They then go on to a list of questions they are demanding that defendant to answer. To summarize, "Please explain how Microsoft is like a drug dealer!" Oh, the answers are gonna be a real treat! Be sure to tune in tomorrow kids! Same bat-time! Same bat-channel!
-
Parent
Re:Misleading title... (Score:4, Insightful)
I.e. "threatening to fire somebody" is illegal in the EU. You may just do it or leave it, but it is explicit illegal to put it under any condition..
Parent
Official Sergio Amadeu Answer (Score:5, Informative)
Hi,
I had translated the official answer of Sergio Amadeu to the press regarding this issue. While there is no proccess, Amadeu received an offical judicial notification asking for an apologize in 48 hours. The original note [cipsga.org.br] is on the site of the CIPSGA, a local NGO commited to free software. There are other related news on CIPSGA site [cipsga.org.br] as well, including a microsoft answer [cipsga.org.br] (I will not loose my time translating that - use the fish [altavista.com]).
Notice to the Press- Sérgio Amadeu
In attention to the national and international press demand, which supports the brazillian government in this moment without precedent in History, in which the director of an important puclic institution in this country sufferes personally the action of those interested in keeping an hegemonic model, write, after hearing my lawyers, state that the justice act enacted against me is, in itself, so unexpected and outrageous, that it doesn't deserve an answer.
On the other hand, I'd like to state that the contraction of software preserving the values of freedom and opennes fis, for the Brazilan Governent, a question linked to the very core of the democratic principles. And why a long and painfull path has passed for we to get at the current status of democraticy on this Country, we shall stand firm in our fight.
If democracy is a value filled with ideologies, it is never an insgnificant factor. If democracy is a dream, it is a dream from which this Country will nerver wake again.
The future is free.
SÉRGIO AMADEU DA SILVEIRA
Diretor-Presidente
Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia da Informação
Parent
Right on (Score:5, Insightful)
Question 6 (Score:5, Insightful)
It looks to me as though the only real question MS can expect a favourable ruling on is question 6: 'Is there any logical connection and/or intention from the Defendant in tipifying (sic) the behavior of the Plaintiff as "drug dealer practice" with the subsequent expression made in the interview of "fear strategy"? '
Pretty much all of the other "questions" have fairly easy-to-respond to answers which will reflect badly on MS business practices, ie: the low-cost-of-entry and high-cost-of-maintenance, buy in haste, repent at leisure type. I don't think there's any relationship between this overall strategy and the FUD one though, they're just 2 distinct dodgy business practices that MS use [grin]
Simon.
Re:Question 6 (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
"The first one is free" (Score:5, Insightful)
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GNU offers choice, Microsoft locks its serfs in (Score:5, Informative)
You are absolutely right, and here is the key difference between GNU and Microsoft:
With Microsoft, you have customer lock-in that actively discourages and often prevents a customer from chosing another system they would otherwise prefer. Evidence of this abounds in virtually every medium one might consider, from the opinion pages of Chicago newspapers to court filings in assorted lawsuits against Microsoft brought by companies and governments large and small, to the pages of the World Wide Web. Customer lock-in is real, destructive, and most importantly to a democratic government: non-democratic (ie choice is removed).
GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, and other free software do not lock anyone in. Indeed, many free applications have been ported to Microsoft's inferior platform because people wanted to run the software and needed to keep running windows (quite probably due to customer lock-in).
The difference? With GNU/Linux you have the choice, even the choice to chose bondage to a large American corporate entity (read: run Windows). With Microsoft, you have no such choice: you are locked quite firmly in regardless of your other desires...with the only possible way out to dump Microsoft products completely.
The wisdom of such a choice is incontravertable, whether one is considering software quality, security, stability, or freedom, but that doesn't mean one has the ability to make such a choice, of one's data is already beholden to the behemoth. Even more so, now that Microsoft appears to be taking the $CO path more directly these days ("no customer, and especially no ex-customer, is safe").
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Code-name (Score:5, Funny)
P.S.
Maybe Brazil will even fix the broken law.
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Possibly the WORST response? (Score:5, Informative)
To be fair, I don't think MS could win this particular battle - almost any business would be willing to deep discount (or offer for free) the first wave of their product to land a long term contract...
Re:Possibly the WORST response? (Score:5, Funny)
As SCO have taught us - if they're customers or potential customers, the best business practice is to sue them. I think the logic is that if they're too scared to speak out about you, then that's one step towards buying product from you. isn't it?
1. Sue customers.
2. ???
3. Profit.
Parent
Interesting complaint... (Score:5, Insightful)
Strange that they didn't argue it was untrue.
Re:Interesting complaint... (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Interesting complaint... (Score:5, Interesting)
It's hardly unreasonable or untrue (though it might well be damaging) and would be entirely legal under US law.
Parent
So.... (Score:5, Insightful)
In the USA, the Truth (used to) set you free (Score:5, Informative)
If you are in the United States you are safe (not from being sued, but from losing). Truth is an absolute defense, regardless of how damaging it may be. And every word you wrote is true.
Caveate: the truth used to set you free, pre-Bush/Chaney/Rumsfeld/Rice. These days, all bets are off, domestic or foreign.
Parent
Text of the complaint (Score:5, Informative)
The Complaint
PINHEIRO NETO LAW FIRM
To the Honorable Judge of Law from the Criminal Court of the District of Barueri, State of
Sao Paulo.
MICROSOFT INFORMATICA LTDA, a company duly incorporated and existing
according to the laws of Brazil, with its headquarters at the City of Sao Paulo, at Avenida das
Nacoes Unidas 12901, Torre Norte, 27 th floor, enrolled under the taxpayers list under
number 60.316.817/ 0001-03, by means of its legal representative (Document number 01) and
undersigned lawyers, respectfully files before this court and against SERGIO AMADEU
DA SILVEIRA, Brazilian citizen, President of the National Institute of Information
Technology (ITI), with headquarters at SCN Quadra 04 Bloco B Pétala D, room 1102,
Edificio Centro Empresarial Varig, CEP 70710-500, Brasilia, DF, the following
DEMAND FOR EXPLANATION
on the grounds of Article 25 of the Federal Statute 5,250 of February 1967 -"The Press
Law", for the reasons and motives explained below:
I-On the exclusive jurisdiction of this Honorable Court to Receive, Process and Decide the
Present Demand for Explanation
1. Under the express provisions of article 42 of the Press Law, which is mandatory, the
jurisdiction to receive, process and decide the Demand for Explanation is that of the place
where the newspaper or periodical, in this case, the place where the magazine Carta Capital,
was printed. Said magazine published the article which the Plaintiff deems as incriminated.
See below:
Article 42 Ð "The place of the violation, for determining Territorial Jurisdiction, will
be that where the newspaper or the periodical was printed, and that of the place where
the studio of the permitted or conceded radio station is located, as well as the main
place of business of the news agency.
Sole Paragraph Ð Press Crimes are subject to the provisions of article 85 of the
Criminal Procedure Code.
2. The precedents of our Courts are uncontroversial in ratifying the provisions of the Especial
Law, according to the following decisions listed in the law reviews: JUTACRIM 68/ 181; 67/
225; 78/ 412; RT 555/ 343; 559/ 379; 556/ 315; 578/ 361; 656/ 269; 603/ 365 etc.
3. According to the administrative information of the abovementioned magazine, it is printed
at Avenida Marcos Penteado Ulhoa Rodrigues, 700, Santana de Parnaiba/ SP, Plural Editora e 1
1 Page 2 3
Grafica, in the district of Barueri.
4. For this reason, this Court must process and decide the present Demand for Explanation.
II -On the Facts
5. On March 17, 2004, the Magazine Carta Capital published under the title "The Penguin
Advances" a jornalistic article about the growing of private companies which would start to
adopt free software, and about the intention of the federal government to launch an
advertising campaign in favor of this type of software.
6. In this jornalistic article, Mr. Sergio Amadeu, Defendant herein, in the exercise of his
public duties of President of the National Institute of Information Technology (ITI), aiming at
disseminating free software among Ministries, State owned companies and governmental
bodies, made aggressive declarations lacking any kind of technical foundation about the use
of the software developed by Microsoft, Plaintiff herein.
III. On the References and Comments made to the Plaintiff company by the Defendant, from
which one can infer Defamation
7. With purposes still to be clarified, the Defendant, at the condition of President of ITI, gave
an intervitew to the magazine Carta Capital, in which he makes reference and imputations of
offensive nature to the Plaintiff, using phrases and expressions from which defamation is
inferred, under the terms of the article 21 of Statute 5.250/ 67, as fo
who's next? (Score:4, Informative)
Now with Microsoft they have waged 'war' with china, the EU, netherlands, Canada, and who's next?
A google news search [google.com] turns up over 120 people / companies Microsoft has sued.
So who's next, It may even be you! if the RIAA can do it why not our beloved M$
A Clarification (Score:5, Informative)
In this inadvertently hilarious google translation [google.com] Microsoft Brazil says they were only asking for an explaination and were misreported. First noted by Alistair Burt [lessig.org] on the Lessig blog [lessig.org].
Clarification == first step in prosecution (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
No, not at all like drug dealing (Score:5, Insightful)
- give away a product
- build a dependancy
- begin charging for the product
- introduce new "stronger" product
Q) How is that like anything Microsoft has ever done?
A) Microsoft has never cut their product with corn starch (that we know of).
Stallman will be upset.... (Score:5, Interesting)
"In order to avoid that someone would appropriate the improvements to make a closed version, Torvalds has created a special use license that forbids the original code or any subsequent modification made upon it to be closed"
Re:Stallman will be upset.... (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Truth is an absolute defense (Score:5, Insightful)
Cheers,
Kyle
Freedom of speech vs. difamation (Score:5, Interesting)
thought crime? (Score:5, Insightful)
That doesn't sound any alarms with anyone else? Are they trying to say this is literally a *thought crime*?
Holy crap.
This is another marketing scheme by Microsoft. (Score:4, Interesting)
This is another marketing scheme by Microsoft employees to get Microsoft in the news and on Slashdot.
I certainly would never have known that a government official in Brazil compared Microsoft marketing people to "drug-dealers", if it weren't repeated in the quiet privacy of a Slashdot story.
Without a lawsuit, most Brazilians would never have heard what the official said. Now millions of Brazilians will know. What will be their reaction? Consider this. Less than two months after the September 11, 2001 bombing of the World Trade Center, at the costume parties celebrating the Brazilian equivalent of Halloween, many Brazilians came as Osama bin Laden [theglobeandmail.com]. Brazilians and people from other countries [hauntedbay.com] think that the U.S. government is arrogant and out of control. Since 3 movies and 35 books published in the U.S. say this too [futurepower.org], it can be said that the feeling is strong. Microsoft's legal action will be seen as more arrogance from the United States, probably.
My guess is that it is likely that this new move by Microsoft will only help sell Bill Gates Halloween masks. It certainly won't help sell Microsoft products.
Defamation is law in many countries (Score:5, Interesting)
Funny thing about defamation law. You don't have to prove that you're reputation has been damaged. It is accepted that this is almost impossible to reliably prove (it isn't like Slashdot Karma). Hence the law assumes that, because you've gone to court over it, your reputation must have been damaged. Also plaintiffs do not have to pay defendant's legal bills in most countries, hence defamation is a good way for rich plaintiffs to get the little guy, because the little guy, even if what he said was true, will still have to pay sizable legal bills.
Same reason as for SCO defeat in Germany (Score:5, Informative)
I wouldn't say that there is no right to free speech altogether - generally, in democratic countries outside the US, generally you can advocate any kind of political ideas, but there are limitations for factual claims about concrete people and companies. (In the US, you can sue for damage compensation afterwards, as well, but in many countries, you can ban claims to stop the damage).
I think it is difficult to say what is better, both kinds of regulations have their advantages and disadvantages. Of course, any limitation of freedom of speech is regrettable, but on the other hand, it can also be important to have the possibility to stop unfair practises that consist in spreading unsubstanciated claims to harm competitors. A good example is SCO: In Germany, they are not allowed to spread allegations about the alleged copyright and licence infringement of Linux because they could not show anything to substanciate them, they had to remove these claims from their German website.
Parent
Freedom of thought ? (Score:5, Insightful)
Amadeu's response... (Score:5, Informative)
"Sergio Amadeu, himself, have posted a short note about Microsoft's move. It's in portuguese, of course, but here is the translation into english:
'In special response to national and international enquiries from the press, that have been supportive with the brazilian government in this unprecedented moment in which the president of an important public institution in this country suffers personally the action of those interested in keeping an hegemonic model, I come forward, after listening to my lawyers and federal solicitors, to say that the judicial provocation imposed against me is, by its own, so unusual and improper that it does not deserve any answer.
In the other hand, I'd like to register that the purchase of software that preserves the values of openness and freedom is, for the brazilian government, a subject unavoidably connected to the democratic principle. And for it have been a long and painful path to reach our current democratic developmental stage in this country, we will not walk out our fight.
If democracy is a value full of ideology, it will never be an insignificant value. If democracy is a dream, it's the one dream this country will never wake up from.
The future is free.
Thanks you all for the support. '
"an excess in freedom of speech and ... thought" (Score:5, Interesting)
Holy context Batman. I love how the submitter is so blatantly trying to get everyone riled up with that quote (oh no, thought crime!), when in fact that quote is actually just a direct translation of Article 12 of the Brazilian Press Law. (Microsoft is directly quoting the law when they use it in the complaint).
They clearly sued the wrong person (Score:5, Informative)
I'm from Brazil and... (Score:5, Interesting)
Microsoft complains with piracy to make us Windows dependent, the price of a OEM copy of Windows costs more than most of the people here uses to live for one month.
For us doesn't make any sense to pay for a OEM copy witch we will not have assistance, and almost all "normal"(non-geek) will need to pay for assistance when a virus infect windows, most of them pays for geek neighbours to reinstall a copy of pirated windows when this happens.
Of course in companies in Brazil most windows copies aren't pirated, this is the market they wants, companies and government computers.
But i'm quite happy that now we have a law here that says that open source will be always the first choice in govern departments, this is making the Microsoft President of Brazil going crazy, all declarations i've seen from him sens desperate actions.
I'm using Linux for 1 year, i still have winXP but for 8 months i didn't used it for more than 1 hour for week, i feel nice to stopped using pirated software, when people here understand that piracy isn't normal things will be better. Government actions to make Microsoft stop to learn our people to use pirated copies would be nice too.
Sorry my bad english, aspell doesn't work for everything
wow (Score:5, Insightful)
or getting sued over pointing out the truth.
wait, yes I did, that's right everyone sues someone else to hush them up or to ruin their life or to a little more cash here and there..
the man in brazil is correct bout m$, they are like a drug dealer, they spread their product, and lock in customers, and stifle all competition and innovation using unfair and illegal methods.
In this case, innovation could be compared to someone cleaning up a community, which would be a hazard for a drug dealer, so the drug dealer gets friends to kill who ever tries to make the area better and make it work for them again, so their business model isnt threatened,such as how manycompanies and linux try to make innovations and bette ralternatives to windows, microsoft goes at the mand makest he market hostile for them and plays unfair because they believe they shouldnt have competition.
Unfair and illegal methods could be compared to dealer killing off anyone who sells another kind of drug, in "their territory" or those who dare offer a way for people to stop using a drug the dealer sells.
(such as them using lies and propagnda, lawsuits, slander, copyrights, etc to attack linux and all opposing forces.)
So the man is correct, and he could so use that in court, too bad he doesnt read
but I imagine him and his attornies already thought of how to back that.
But he is correct, and he pointed out ag ood anology that describes microsoft. and it pisses them off because it's going to threaten their dominance and status among another 3rd world nation that they want to con for all its worth.
Muzzles (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:FUD (Score:5, Insightful)
That dislike of Microsoft is a product of putting up with years of Microsoft's abuse of their customers, not because everyone suddenly decided that "OS vendors should not have names beginning with M, and everyone in such a class should be destroyed".
Parent
Re:Brazil and MS (Score:5, Informative)
Actually he's doing nothing more but saying what Bill G. has said in the past.
Here, [com.com] for example:
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Please consider parent for positive moderation (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent