[IP] Microsoft's first shots in the Patent Wars
Begin forwarded message:
From: Randy Fischer <randy.fischer@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: November 14, 2004 1:11:11 PM EST
To: David Farber <dave@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Microsoft's first shots in the Patent Wars
Reply-To: fischer@xxxxxxxxxx
Dave,
For IP if you like:
From the latest Need to Know:
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
IETF MARID's working group has already said "Thanks,
but no thanks" to a similar licensing scheme MS was
granting for its version of sender-id, see:
http://www.imc.org/ietf-mxcomp/mail-archive/msg04673.html
-Randy Fischer
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