MS-Sun Agreement Leaves Opening For OO.org Suits

newentiti writes "We all know Microsoft paid $900,000,000.00 to Sun and they also signed a LIMITED PATENT COVENANT AND STAND-STILL AGREEMENT. The agreement basically states that Microsoft will not sue Sun for any patents for the next 10 years and vice versa. What's really interesting is that according to this story the agreement had a special provision that lets Microsoft sue anybody, including Sun, over OpenOffice.org. I wonder what Microsoft had in mind?"

Lawsuits ala Lindows

[netcrusher88]

Maybe Microsoft wants to sue them for the "Office" part? Appearently they thought they could sue Lindows for the "indows" part...

Objective

[Scoria]

I wonder what Microsoft had in mind?

Why, global domination, of course!

Perhaps...

[Mr Guy]

including Sun, over OpenOffice.org. I wonder what Microsoft had in mind?"

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say, perhaps, suing?

Re:Lawsuits ala Lindows

[Agent Green]

Nah...They want to sue them for the "Micro" part...so we'll have Sun Systems when it's all said and done. :)

MS Earth

[michael path]

I wonder what Microsoft had in mind?

Rebranding the planet Microsoft Earth [microsoft.com]®

Re:Office is their cash cow obviously

[netcrusher88]

Office is their (cash) cow

Beef...it's what's for dinner

Optimism

[iamdrscience]

Maybe I'm putting too much faith in Sun, but I'd like to think that if Microsoft sued OO, then Sun would help them out.

Re:Lawsuits ala Lindows

[MikeMacK]

No, I think it's the "Open" part that bugs them the most.

Respect Me in the Morning

[4of12]

I wonder what Microsoft had in mind?

No wonder. It's clear that Clippy [missstrict.net] is going to sue erstwhile Office users under the "Alienation of Affection" [equityfeminism.com] provision of the EULA [slashdot.org] you clicked through so quickly under the heated passion [iht.com] of the moment.

Re:Sun should get sued...

[ravenspear]

Yeah, because java is so much worse than .NET.

Sinister? Or SNL plot?

[Roadkills-R-Us]

Part of the analysis reads:

The rest states that Sun has to give Microsoft legal aid in bringing lawsuits against users of Open Office. Also, Microsoft will pay Sun a confidential sum for its troubles for providing that legal aid.

So, MS can sue Sun for using OO, and require Sun to help MS sue Sun, but then MS has to pay Sun for such aid???

That series of stories could be almost as entertaining as te SCO Follies!

visa versa?

[spectrokid]

Microsoft will not sue Sun for any patents for the next 10 years and visa versa.

visa versa? is that like the back side of your credit card?

Re:Change the name

[Gaewyn L Knight]

Just please don't let them change it to Firemoth or Thundercat!

Re:MS Earth

[grunt107]

Well, there IS alot of Blue... Hmmm - How do you reboot a planet (Ctrl-Alt-Nuke?)?

Re:MS Earth

[maxwell demon]

As long as they don't remove the planet from the sphere of influence of the Sun ...

Re:Objective

[justsomebody]

I think that I'm much more in favour of "Pinky and the Brain" than "Steve and the Bill" kind of domination.

At least cartoons made more sense than Microsoft publications.

Re:Objective

[TheSpoom]

Are you pondering what I'm pondering, Pinky?

Well I think so, Brain, but didn't SCO already patent that way of doing business?

Re:Change the name

[ricotest]

IANAL

With reasoning like that, you should be! I think you could really help SCO's case.

What happened is...

[Mike Hawk]

People wised up and realized that the internet is an evil place. Noone can be trusted. Least of all open source software users and developers. The only way to be secure in one's information is to trust MS and MS alone. Its really the natural evolution of things. Me thinks you doth protest too much.

Microsoft Patent Violation

[GhodMode]

Hasn't Microsoft(TM) patented the word(TM) Office(TM) along with the words Windows(TM) and Word(TM)?

The mere existence of OpenOffice.org is a blatant disregard for copyright laws!

<g>

* Copyright Microsoft 1980-2100. All Rights Reserved. Resistance is futile.

Re:MS Earth

[Dirtside]

Rebranding the planet Microsoft Earth®

Would this leave us vulnerable to the Blue Sky of Death?

Visa versa

[Espectr0]

visa versa

I can see the VISA ad: "Because Microsoft won't take American Express"

Re:Holy #$#@$

[Anonymous Coward]

visa versa

Jesus Christ. How hard is it to use simpler terms if you don't know that the *complex* ones mean? Lets atleast try to keep it a little professional editors. Please.

OpenOffice.org software download: free

Patent agreement between Sun and Microsoft: $900,000,000

Getting flamed by an AC for misspelling "vice": priceless

There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's visa versa.

Re:MS Earth

[silicon not in the v]

Rebranding the planet Microsoft Earth

Somebody [microsith.com] already has an answer to that one. It's called MS Planet Exploder 5.0.

Re:Lawsuits ala Lindows

[Hinhule]

Yeah, mom always used to tell me to "Close the doors/windows/etc there is a draft!"

Microsoft obviously doesn't want a draft.

Re:Lawsuits ala Lindows

[baggins2002]

So maybe we could make a OO template for all of the documents required to file suit in the United States. And then write a script which uses these templates to create a completed document.

#perl FileLawsuit.pl
Which State? Washington
Plaintiff? Geeks of America
Defendant? Microsoft (forewith referred to as scumbags )
Reason? Infringement of patented algorithm to
create legal documents. Shown to have submitted
legal documents with likeness of documents
like those produced by the program FileLawsuit.pl,
which is a patented algorithm.

Re:Old news...at least to me.

[Anonymous Coward]

I also cannot reveal my True Identity (tm), but I have heard from very reliable sources that anyone saying "Scott McFreaky" is an imposter.
But, because I am so scared of revealing my True Identity, this posting MUST be true because who would just randomly make up something like this, hmmm??

Re:Lawsuits ala Lindows

[killjoe]

replace "it" with terrorism and you get George Bush.