Microsoft milks Casio for using Linux

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/20/signs_deal_with_casio_for_undisclosed_sum/

by jvc26 • 15 years ago

111 64 15 years ago

theregister.co.uk

rbanffy11• 15 years ago

I really fear the day when Microsoft, without any valuable products, becomes nothing more than a patent troll...

An NPE with Microsoft's patent portfolio is something very, very dangerous.

bergie• 15 years ago

Cringely thinks that will happen unless Windows 8 flies:

We’ll start with Microsoft and Windows 8, which I’ll argue are going to be formidable competitors in the tablet space, primarily because it’s that or start spending all that cash on diversified investments to turn Microsoft into a Berkshire Hathaway. This is probably Ballmer’s last stand as a high tech CEO.

http://www.cringely.com/2011/09/ballmers-last-stand/

sliverstorm3• 15 years ago

Last stand? That implies a track record of failure, and last I checked Windows 7 was very successful.

slug• 15 years ago

well, some of microsoft alums seem to have become one: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2809544

dramaticus3• 15 years ago

> While Linux is supposed to be open source

What an extraordinary statement.

dmoney2• 15 years ago

It's not a statement, it's a clause.

brainless• 15 years ago

If Linux powers such large chunks of the Internet and many other systems, is this not an issue that would ultimately affect every human using such technology? All those companies who have signed, including Amazon, are paying an extra amount, no matter how small, and ultimately it affects how the end user is charged, right?

Or am I reading this all wrong?

fleitz2• 15 years ago

Maybe... Amazon doesn't sell a lot of commodities and non-commodity goods are usually priced by consumer surplus, rather than cost. (eg. You're paying $5.00 for a latte because of the convenience rather than the cost of the coffee + overhead)

Also, whatever tech they are licensing could reduce costs for the consumer. (eg. it's cheaper to license tech from MSFT than to re-implement major portions of the linux kernel)

The issue is muddy enough that you can make a good case either way.

jwhitlark• 15 years ago

The main problem is that MS won't state what patents it believes are being violated, so the community can't evaluate that for itself. We just have to take their word for it.

"No, really. It's for your own good."

beagle32• 15 years ago

The first paragraph is golden, but this:

> Also, whatever tech they are licensing could reduce costs for the consumer. (eg. it's cheaper to license tech from MSFT than to re-implement major portions of the linux kernel)

Makes no sense. "license" from MS does not reduce the cost of implementation. The cases discussed in the article refer to paying MS to use Linux. There is NO WAY that this reduces costs for the consumer. They did not get anything from Microsoft except the promise not to sue.

Tsagadai• 15 years ago

It's actually pretty clear, Microsoft is extorting small players. If Microsoft had patents that were actually valid it would go after IBM, Intel, Google or Red Hat. They all have more money and use Linux far more widely and deeply. But Microsoft doesn't go after those companies because it would lose those cases. Microsoft is targeting companies without the power or will (it isn't their core business at stake) to make a buck off other people's innovations. I think someone should call Microsoft's bluff already.

gxs• 15 years ago

Relevant: http://www.fastcompany.com/1560194/microsoft-and-amazon-sign...

jsmcgd• 15 years ago

Surely some organization at some point is going to have to start paying licencing deals for using Microsoft products which violate some other organization's patents (I'm looking at you Google).

m0nastic3• 15 years ago

One of the things customers of Microsoft products "benefit from" is being covered by their IP indemnity policy‡.

For large enterprises deploying stuff with Microsoft kit, that's a pretty big benefit.

‡ http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/D/0/9D0A6265-A509-4... (link downloads a DOC file, sorry, couldn't find it online)

0x123• 15 years ago

That's shades of SCO and I don't like it one bit.

billybob• 15 years ago

I wonder whether patent trolling like this isn't just driving businesses to move to countries with weak IP law.

rbanffy11• 15 years ago

For that to happen, countries with weak (as in "sane") IP law must also provide an environment companies can operate in.

pmjordan2• 15 years ago

I don't think it helps to be located outside the problematic jurisdiction - as soon as you sell your products there, you are once again subject to the laws you're trying to avoid. Avoiding the United States as a market is probably more costly than just putting up with the "patent tax".

beagle32• 15 years ago

Unfortunately, what matters is where you want to do your business, rather than where you are incorporated.

And the patent supports (like MS) are better at exporting strong IP law than other business can do to use those weak IP laws.

Create• 15 years ago

I have seen this happen. People moved from USA/Can to Sweden because of software patents.

pypy

majika• 15 years ago

Microsoft profiting from Linux by extorting companies who use it is just plain wrong. But then, show me a patent system that wouldn't permit this kind of behaviour.

Software patents need to go. Microsoft is a prime example of why.

WildUtah• 15 years ago

show me a patent system that wouldn't permit this kind of behaviour.

There are about 40 first world countries, all with patent systems. Ridiculous software patent abuses seem to be limited to the USA.

guelo2• 15 years ago

Also 90%[1] of software innovation come from the USA.

[1] Wild ass guess.

pointyhat2• 15 years ago

Don't the Mafia use tactics like this? It's a protection racket!

niels_olson• 15 years ago

Can someone explain what the technical basis for Microsoft's claims against Linux companies is?

ineedtosleep• 15 years ago

Are all these MS threads going to be trolled now with people incessantly spurting out visions of MS's doom?

HN, you're turning into Reddit, except Reddit gives me a hide button and a collapse thread button.

yason• 15 years ago

Soon they can start giving Windows for free because they can charge patent royalties for using anything else.

Microsoft milks Casio for using Linux

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