[Patents] ZDNet: MS patents may threaten open source

[sf@fermigier.com (Stefane Fermigier)]

http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2808548,00.html

   MS patents may threaten open source
   By Peter Galli eWEEK
   August 28, 2001 10:55 AM PT

   Members of the open-source community are becoming increasingly
   concerned by ongoing moves from Microsoft Corp. to acquire a range of
   software patents that the company can potentially use down the line to
   attack and try to restrict the development and distribution of
   open-source software.

   And much of that concern is being directed toward open-source desktop
   company Ximian Inc.'s Mono Project, an open-source initiative to
   replace part of Microsoft's .Net product line, including a way to run
   C# programs and the .Net Common Language Infrastructure on Linux.

   [...]

   "If I were in Microsoft's position, I would be looking through all the
   patents I had been buying that are potentially being infringed by
   open-source software," Perens said. "They are going to hold onto these
   patents until they see what happens with the antitrust case against
   them. Once that is resolved, they will then use them against the
   open-source industry."

-- 
Stéfane Fermigier, Tel: +33 (0)6 63 04 12 77 (mobile).
http://nuxeo.com/ & http://portalux.com/ & http://aful.org/
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