IBM, Intel, the Open Source Development Labs, where Linux creator Linus Torvalds works, and other industry lights are planning to rob Microsoft of the ability to scare customers off of Linux by saying that the operating system is a patent infringer, informed sources say.
On January 25 they will supposedly announce that a consortium has been created that will rewrite the components in the Linux kernel that, it has been alleged, tread on other people's IP - or at least the 27 Microsoft patents that Linux supposedly infringes.
The consortium will reportedly be underwritten by the state of Oregon and the city of Beaverton and will recruit its staff from local universities, which will also be backing the effort. The governor of Oregon and the mayor of Beaverton will reportedly be at the announcement.
The tactic is called "Operation Open Gates."
The Linux kernel supposedly infringes on 283 (unidentified) patents according to the wannabe insurance start-up Open Source Risk Management. The patents were reviewed by Free Software Foundation counsel Daniel Ravicher, a patent attorney who also runs the Public Patent Foundation.
Ravicher refused to identify the patents, in order that Linux users couldn't be charged with willful infringement.
Microsoft's patents are regarded as the most dangerous, although at least another third of the 283 patents are owned by other people with little to lose in threatening enterprise Linux users with litigation in hopes of winning a handsome settlement. The rest are owned by companies known to be friendly to Linux like IBM, HP, Intel, and Novell.
About Maureen O'Gara Maureen O'Gara is the Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025.
Denis Robert wrote: Why
hasn't O'Gara been fired
yet??? I don't get it:
When someone repeatedly
invents "news" reports in
a respectable news
organization, they
usually get fired, don't
they? O'Gara's
imagination is running
wild these day, and
SYS-CON's insistence on
publishing her ramblings
puts them in the same
league as FOX"News".
MG wrote: Michael,
You are a bit wrong. The
announcement was made and
it was just as ODSL
claimed it was. It is a
new lab for open source
development; including
help with coding, testing
and other bells and
whistles. It is a "seed"
lab to help developers
and the open source
community to develop
products that are able to
work within the
guidelines of GPL. They
will also help them
develop market strategies
and processes that works
hand in hand with GPL and
the spirit of open source
while allowing them to
build a viable business.
You are right about
everything else though.
She did cry "wolf" and I
personally feel she knew
exactly what she was
doing; thus the silence.
This should be a sign to
all the MOG supporters
that she is not always on
the up and up. Im not
going to claim she has an
agenda, though that may
be true. I can...
Michael wrote: Hey, the
deadline for "open gates"
has passed and still no
announcement, Maureen.
Time for a retraction,
yet? Time to admit you
were had? Time to get
off your butt and
actually research
articles instead of
regurgitating press
releases? No, I didn't
think so. Move on,
nothing to see here.
Well wrote: Maureen
reports the story but I
am waiting for "more
news" form the "Utah
Court" today, that would
be real interesting to
see!
I wonder how people will
interpret the news which
did not come out yet.
AllEars wrote: So what
will MOG today tell us
about the SCO v IBM
decision yesterday? The
federal magistrate has
handed a partial victory
SCO surely? I do hope
there won't be any
gloating from Maureen.
JRB wrote: First off, As
long as Linux has been
here, the chances of it
infringing upon others
IP, is very unlikely, to
do this from my
understanding they must
find complete
reproduction of thier
coding. To just toss a
patent up and then go
back hunting through code
tha is similar to it is
absurd. Any judge with
good sense should release
the patent and place it
with Linus and in doing
so, really breaking this
streak of BS going on
now, they have been shown
time and again that it
was his own code.
The only reason I see for
them wanting to rewrite
is for thier own personal
chance of putting in code
that "They" might be able
to claim patent on as
well. This OS is one of
the best for one reason
and one only because it
is open to all. Rahter
then rewite I personally
would attempt to counter
and claim first creation
and then turn back and
let them be the ones
pleading for mercy.
anal wrote: poor BG,
seems to be visiting us
from another planet, as
do a number of other
Anti-linux morons.
As a supposidly
intellegent race, we seem
to specialize in shooting
our self in the foot.
Again & again & again!!
BG wrote: My email to
Maureen,
Dear Maureen,
As usual, you have gotten
to the folks behind the
scenes at OSDL and found
out Linux is getting
rewritten to evade
patent infringement
claims and to remove the
stolen SCO
intellectual property
that's riddled all
through Linux. I realize
these communists are
screaming as loud as they
can, but you are doing a
good thing pointing out
that open source really
does steal otehr peoples
property.
I salute your courage and
candor in having the
backbone to report the
truth about Linux to the
world.
Rodd Ahrenstorff wrote:
My email to Maureen:
As a faithful reader and
subscriber to sys-con
publications, I would
certainly appreciate a
published explanation
regarding the story
linked below. Based on
recent published accounts
from those very parties
mentioned in the story,
your original work is
part fabrication or at
least based on false
information from
"informed sources". It
would appear no further
research went into the
details of this article
on your behalf.
Maureen, this really
undermines your readers
faith in you, as an
unbiased IT analyst, and
further erodes the
reputation of LBW and
sys-con in general.
Please either retract
this original story or
publish an explanation
for the factual
discrepancies. People
can fogive mistakes when
made, but delaying a
public reply is only
asking for more trouble.
I'll be waiting...
Thanks for your time,
(signed)
Jackie Smith wrote:
Reading the Ads is much
more useful than the
O'Gara's smelly garbage!
O'Gara is the secret
weapon of the LBW's
competition - let's get
rid of her - once and
forever...
If I were
O'Gara I would resign
voluntarily after so much
negative response from
the LBW's readers.
Michael wrote: It's
simple, really. If
O'Gara's subject in an
article is Linux, 90%+
will be outright lies and
fabrications. The woman
absolutely despises Linux
and open source, and
feels like anything is
justified in the effort
to slow its progress.
That she writes for the
unquestionably anti-Linux
yellowsheet called "Linux
Business Week" is sort of
poetic.
Fewclues wrote: Stop and
realize how most of us
hate Microsoft's tactics,
and some actually hate
Bill Gates and some just
hate Windows. Well add
all that together and
then stand in front of a
mirror and you have MOG's
feeling about Linux. She
is a clever author of a
lot of fiction that gets
some bad rumors to
rumbling. I say she's
had all of us!
MG wrote: This is a lot
to do about nothing (as
usual). ODSL is *THE*
consortium she is
reporting about and they
deny this article as
being true. This is not
some new group that
complements or displaces
ODSL. What does ODSL do?
They promote Linux. They
work to make sure that
Open Source software is
developing properly and
moving in the right
direction and in the
sprit of Open Source.
They are also involved in
helping to protect
customers against
litigation. They have big
backers from Hitachi,
*IBM*, *Intel*, HP, Nec
and others. Sound
familiar?
It should because it is
exact same thing this
article reports except
with no confirmable
sources (only
unspecified). Ive looked
(quickly) as far back as
2003, and ODSL has had
pretty much the exact
same goal as now. That is
promoting and protecting
the Open Source. The only
...
oprogue wrote: I'm a
touch confused, Linus
just blasted the way
security breeches are
handled - seems to me
these patent nfringements
boarder along the same
lines. Fix the kernal,
issue a new release, give
developers time to
incorporate it, then and
only then comment on
potential patent
infringements. The
greatest battles are won
when we didn't even know
there was a war.
I am grateful for the
contributions being made
to ensure the future
development of Linux.
Maybe we can see the
implementation and
incorporation of FAST TCP
this alone would allow
Linux to fly past the M$
market share in the
internet world (percent
OS usage by a given
populace would probably
already place Linux as
the dominating OS). M$
is going to have its
hands full trying to keep
the 7 versions of
Longhorn patched, and
justifying its chargin...
Mulder wrote: > If
Microsoft do own any
patents which Linux
breaches, why haven't
Microsoft taken the
matter to court?
It wouldn't become MS in
its quasi-monopoly
position to openly attack
a competitor with patent
infringement lawsuits.
> It's like the fox
coming from the hen
house, with chicken
feathers all over his
lips, saying, "show me
the chickens."
If we look at the SCO
cases, it's more like the
squirrel coming from the
woods and the farmer
saying "you're a fox and
you killed my 5 billion
chickens".
Two of the biggest
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Application history took
place in 2007/2008 when
Adobe launched AIR 1.0 in
February '08 and
Microsoft launched
Silverlight (September
'07). At the 6th
International AJAXWorld
RIA Conference & Expo in
October SYS-CON Events is
delighted to be
MuleSource announced
general availability of
Mule Galaxy Enterprise, a
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solution for storing and
managing SOA artifacts
offering new
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such as clustering for
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extensible query engine,
and more. Mule Galaxy
Enterprise, the
Oracle announced new
releases of Oracle
Berkeley DB, Oracle
Berkeley DB XML and
Oracle Berkeley DB Java
Edition. The new releases
and enhancements signify
Oracle's commitment to
continued innovation
across the Oracle
Berkeley DB product
family, while maintaining
the open source dual li
Open source applications
provider Red Hat has
introduced three
applications targeting
enterprise-wide adoption
of next-generation
virtualization. It has
introduced embedded Linux
Hypervisor for hosting
virtualized Linux and
Windows environments,
which provide
virtualization with
improv
Red Hat announced
advancements that extend
the Company's Linux
Automation strategy by
providing expanded
capabilities and
incorporating broadened
community involvement for
secure management of both
users and systems across
virtual and physical
enterprise
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Red Hat saw earnings rise
6.6% to $17.3 million, or
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its first fiscal quarter
ended May 31 on revenue
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11% sequentially to
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Subscription revenue was
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.gif)
Two of the biggest
launches in Rich Internet
Application history took
place in 2007/2008 when
Adobe launched AIR 1.0 in
February '08 and
Microsoft launched
Silverlight (September
'07). At the 6th
International AJAXWorld
RIA Conference & Expo in
October SYS-CON Events is
delighted to be
Red Hat saw earnings rise
6.6% to $17.3 million, or
eight cents a share in
its first fiscal quarter
ended May 31 on revenue
up 32% year-over-year and
11% sequentially to
$156.6 million. EPS was
dead flat year-over-year.
Subscription revenue was
$130.7 million, up 27%
year-over-year and
