MS Makes Mockery of Interoperability

Oct 27, 2008, 14:03 (0 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Paul Furber)

"Microsoft needs to get rid of its chief IP lawyer and its patent strategy if it wants further efforts at interoperability to be taken seriously by open source vendors and users.In at least two interviews with IT publications this week, Horacio Gutierrez reaffirmed that the company intends to try and force open source companies to sign patent licensing deals or face lawsuits...

"As far as I can tell, Microsoft just wants its competitors to pay it money every time they breathe out. So what's a patent-holder to do? The way Gutierrez seems to think will work is to threaten to sue - but without actually doing anything - and hope that vendors who don't want to call its bluff will be scared enough to sign a licensing deal. Microsoft continually refuses to say what the patents are - you're just going to have to trust that they're valuable."

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• Microsoft: We're All 'Mixed Source' Companies(Oct 20, 2008)
• 'PatentGate,' One Year Later: Microsoft Against the Open-Source World(May 21, 2008)
• Microsoft's Love for Linux Deepens Year after Year(Nov 08, 2007)