[ale] [Fwd: The Patent Wars have begun]

[Geoffrey]

This is a bit scary...

                                 spelled "L-Z-Ws"

            Last year, Microsoft had 4,000 patents in total. This year,
            they applied for another 3,000. They are now planning at
            least twenty IP cross-licensing deals with other large
            corporations, and have made it clear that they are seeking
            similiar alliances with even their worst enemies. This
            April, they quietly offered a "Royalty Free Protocol License
            Agreement" on their site. It generously allows the license
            of "any intellectual property rights Microsoft may have in
            any or all of [the following] protocols". The 130 protocols
            listed included Appletalk, most of TCP/IP - and everything
            else, from DNS to Zmodem, from DHCP to the port 9 discard
            service (whose sole function is to drop packets). Signing
            this license frees developers from being sued for IP
            infringements by Microsoft, but prevents you from working on
            GPL software (Samba already warns its contributors not to
            sign it). This week, Microsoft indemnified all their
            customers from the legal fallout of any court cases
            revolving around their IP. Which implies there is either
            about to be such a battle: or at least Microsoft wants
            everyone to think there'll be one. Put this week in your
            diaries, ladies and gentlemen of the Internet: you don't
            need Yoda to tell you that the Patent Wars have begun.
            http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20041107154122603
                                  - pat groklaw says all you need to know
            http://www.worldwar2database.com/html/phonywar.htm
                                             - or the phony war, at least


-- 
Until later, Geoffrey