Microsoft's Patent Pledge "Worse Than Useless" 140
munchola writes "The Software Freedom Law Center has declared that Microsoft's patent pledge to open source developers is 'worse than useless'. SFLC chief technology officer, Bradley Kuhn, has written to FOSS developers warning them that 'developers are no safer from Microsoft patents now than they were before'. According to Kuhn: 'The patent covenant only applies to software that you develop at home and keep for yourself; the promises don't extend to others when you distribute. You cannot pass the rights to your downstream recipients, even to the maintainers of larger projects on which your contribution is built.'"
Surprised? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Because we all know... (Score:2, Insightful)
The long term consequences don't matter here... all that matters is that for the next couple of years, profits go up
Welcome to corporation-think
This has nothing to do with feel-good, Microsoft is teh EVIL, I hug bunnies world.
A corporation exists to make money for its owners
period
too bad about SuSE Linux... it will be seen as a victim of collateral damage
Re:Enough (Score:5, Insightful)
This is getting worse than Zune news. No one writing about this knows any more of the details than what was released to the press.
I know it is not normal to RTFA, but if you did you'd see it was a press release about the license MS released with regard to their promise not to sue open source hobbyists over patent violations. It is not about the Novell deal, despite the fact that every comment thus far (except my previous one) seems to be assuming otherwise. So people do know more than was published in the press release, just not about what you seem to have thought this article was about.
Re:Surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)
They created ME and Vista. I would consider the users that left Windows because of ME or the ones who might leave because of Vista, something truly good for OSS.
Re:Ok... (Score:2, Insightful)
Besides, it's not like the "yes" tag could ever be used to categorize an article, so it's not really "wasting" any of the tagging system's potential, if you search for, say, "Halo" articles, the "no" tag applied to "Was Halo 2 Great?" isn't going to stop it from showing up in your search (sorry for the flamebaitish example, I know a lot of people like it). IMO Proper tags and "opinion" tags can co-exist peacefully.
And I hope tagging is applied to the comment moderation system soon.
Re:huge number of patents (Score:2, Insightful)
no they are not literally taking the piss,
they are however patenting methods and means of urine extraction.
ignore all comments above, i should be sleeping
Re:No kidding (Score:4, Insightful)
Bingo. A point I have been trying to make for what seems like ages.
There are no free markets when it comes to goods protected by copyrights or patents. With copyleft you can perhaps get close to a free market in those goods.
all the best,
drew
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/262954 [ourmedia.org]
Sayings - Deterred Bahamian Novel
Re:Patents don't protect that anyway - wrong (Score:3, Insightful)
But I think this commonly held misconception might be one reason why the general public sees nothing wrong with patents...they think it only applies if you're trying to make money off the idea or running a company, e.g., it doesn't apply to them so why care. But a patent is an absolute abridgment of freedom, and really has nothing to do with money or intent at all, nor does it have anything to do with stealing (like copyright or trade secrets) as you can unknowingly infringe even if you thought up the idea all by yourself. Of course any legal remidies, actions, rewards, etc may be based on money and scale, but not the determination if you're guilty of infringement or not.
IANAL applies, but I have read through the US Law as best as I could understand it. If somebody more knowing than me knows something else, please be kind and point out exactly where in the law such distrinction is made because I can't find it.
Re:Why should they? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:No kidding (Score:2, Insightful)
Free market isn't defined as whatever the Republican's spout. Just like Communism isn't whatever the USSR spouted.
Re:You got it backwards. (Score:1, Insightful)
Against non-commercial coders. Which is the point - they're using the market-distorting power of patents to eliminate the more efficient competition from the COMMERCIAL open-source coders that have been mopping the floor with closed source lame ducks lately.
On the other hand, VA Software (the owner of Slashdot) has said publically that they will aggressively prosecute people who violate their patents.
That's a "we're better than North Korea" argument. Both companies are in the wrong, but ultimately the legal system is in the wrong.
Maybe you
Fuck off if you don't like it. Actually, looking at your posting history, I'd guess slashdot is the only social interaction you get; so I shouldn't even be replying to you, it'll only encourage you.
Evil on one side, evil on the other (Score:3, Insightful)
This from the man who believes [omnipotent.net] that the GPL is the only FOSS license with the right to exist.
Mr. Kuhn, you are every bit as much a part of the problem as Microsoft are themselves. In fact, you are moreso. At least Microsoft do not try and pretend to be anything other than what they are. You are not one micron less a fascist...merely from a different direction.
You can take your warped, cultic distortion of the word "freedom," and cram it where you feel most appropriate. You and Richard Stallman are open source's answer to David Miscavige and L. Ron. Hubbard, respectively. You are the proverbial scorpion on Linux's back.
Some who use Linux with the total inability to think for themselves may delude themselves that they need to use your brain and Stallman's in leiu of their own. I am not among such people, and I defy, reject, and repudiate both you, Stallman, and the entirely *false* freedom which the FSF stands for. You would have us reject Microsoft as our masters, only to install yourselves in their place.
You do not speak for everyone who uses open source. You most certainly do not speak for me.
Re:Boycott Novell (Score:2, Insightful)
There's only very few companies that can do that and get away with it, and Novell is not even close to being big enough to be one of them.
They didn't manage to survive as long as they have by pissing off their customers.
Re:You got it backwards. (Score:3, Insightful)
What exactly do I have backwards? Are you claiming that copyrights and patents create or enhance Free Market Capitalism?
You will need to bring some serious arguments and lots of whatever to put that case across.
Oh, and those ad hominum references to lemmings don't work too well.
all the best,
drew
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/262954 [ourmedia.org]
Sayings - Deterred Bahamian Novel