Microsoft and open source: 2 notes

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Date: July 21, 2004 3:18:50 PM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Microsoft and open source
Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com



[Note:  This item comes from reader Wendy Wigen.  DLH]

> From: "Wendy Wigen" <wwigen () educause edu>
> Date: July 21, 2004 7:31:53 AM PDT
> To: "Dewayne Hendricks" <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Subject: Microsoft and open source
>
> HP MEMO SHOWS MICROSOFT PLANNED OPEN-SOURCE PATENT FIGHT HP sought to 
> distance itself yesterday from a June 2002 memo in which an HP 
> executive said Microsoft planned to use patents as the basis for a 
> legal attack on open-source software. The memo was written as Linux 
> began to emerge from relative obscurity to become an increasingly 
> popular alternative to Microsoft's proprietary operating system.
>
> <http://news.com.com/2100-7344_3-5276901.html>




[Note:  This comment comes from reader Brian Berg.  DLH]

> From: "Brian Berg" <bab () bergsoftware com>
> Date: July 21, 2004 12:27:54 PM PDT
> To: "Dewayne Hendricks" <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Subject: Microsoft and open source: more info
> Reply-To: "Brian Berg" <bab () bergsoftware com>
>
> Dewayne,
>  
> Here's more info re: the "Campbell Memo".  Brian
>  
> A 2-year-old internal HP email, the "Campbell Memo" was recently 
> disclosed, and asserts that  "Microsoft will soon be launching a 
> patent-based legal offensive against Linux and other free software 
> projects."
>
> One or more of the email's addressees may be familiar to members of 
> this list. HP has responded dismissively, but not with a denial.
>
> The excerpt below is taken from the memo's full text, which is 
> available at:
> http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=04/07/19/2315200
>
> ===================================================================
>
> From: Campbell, Gary [mailto:gary.campbell () hp com]
> Sent: Monday, June 03, 2002 7:27 PM
> To: Stallard, Scott J; CTO Office Directs; Chaffin, Janice; Denzel, 
> Nora; McDowell, Mary; Elias, Howard; Fink, Martin R; Becker, Rick 
> (ISS);
> Beyers, Joe
> Cc: Blackmore, Peter; Robison, Shane
> Subject: Microsoft Patent Cross License - Open Source Software Impact
>
> Microsoft Patent Cross License - Open Source Software Impact
>
> Today we agreed on a new patent cross license with Microsoft that 
> protects HP in the short term, but it has significant impact on HP's 
> use of Open Source software in the long term.
> More importantly, we now understand that Microsoft is about to launch 
> legal action against the industry for shipping Open Source software 
> that may force us out of using certain popular Open Source products.
> We need to create a cross-HP staffed program to understand the 
> implication by product group and to provide the short term and long 
> term steerage. I'll hook up with Martin tomorrow and start planning 
> next steps for a cross-HP planning team.
>
> Background:
>
> HP is we believe, protected by our previous cross license for patents 
> filed by Microsoft up to June of 2001, to ship open source software 
> that violates Microsoft patents that was developed or shipped prior to 
> today. This means that we can freeze on today's open source 
> functionality and we are protected.
>
> ...
>
> Microsoft's Intentions:
>
> Microsoft could attack Open Source Software for patent infringements 
> against OEMs, Linux distributors, and least likely open source 
> developers. They are specifically upset about Samba, Apache and 
> Sendmail. We believe Samba is first, and they will attempt to prove it 
> isn't covered by prior patent cross as a so called "clone" product 
> carve out in the previous agreement.
>
> ...
>
> Mutually Assured Destruction Clause:
>
> But it probably doesn't matter, because the GPL license has a mutually 
> assured destruction clause in section 7, if anyone is sued over a 
> patent infringement, no one is licensed under the GPL to ship GPL-ed 
> products. This is probably what Microsoft intends to do.
>
> Basically Microsoft is going to use the legal system to shut down open 
> source software, and for all of its cleverness, the GPL makes it 
> fairly easy unless a white knight steps in.
>
> Best guess on the timing, this fall when they are finished settling 
> with DOJ and the states.
>
> ...
>
> ===================================================================
>
> To follow up on the above exceprts, browsing the USPTO web site 
> reveals that Microsoft is the assignee on two patents filed after June 
> 1, 2001, now issued, and on three patent applications filed on exactly 
> June 1, 2001, and still pending. The pending applications collectively 
> address distributed computing scenarios, in which several currently 
> topical technologies might be impacted, such as, "grid computing", 
> IBM's "autonomic computing", "web services", UDDI, DCOM, and CORBA.
>
> The patent applications are:
> 1 20030110416 Methods and systems for creating and communicating with 
> computer processes
> 2 20020112058 Peer networking host framework and hosting API
> 3 20010051981 Methods and systems for discovering object-exchange 
> resources on a network


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