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Mandriva says no to Microsoft Linux deal
Large players hold firm while the small guys sign up.
By Todd R. Weiss, Computerworld | Computerworld UK
Published: 03:26 GMT, 21 June 07
French Linux vendor Mandriva said no to dealing with Microsoft on open source patents - the third Linux vendor in a week to do so.
In a statement on his company blog, Francois Bancilhon, CEO of Paris-based Mandriva, said, "We don't believe it is necessary for us to get protection from Microsoft to do our job, or to pay protection money to anyone."
Bancilhon acknowledged that several other Linux vendors, including Linspire and Xandros, recently signed intellectual property and collaboration deals with Microsoft to protect them from potential patent claims related to their code. Those agreements followed a highly publicised deal Microsoft reached with Novell and SUSE Linux in November.
Such deals have been more common since Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, and Horacio Gutierrez, the company's vice president of intellectual property and licensing, said last month that open-source software, including Linux, violates 235 Microsoft patents and that the company wants distributors and users of open-source software to start paying royalties for the alleged violations.
Last Saturday, Ubuntu Linux founder Mark Shuttleworth wrote in his personal blog that Ubuntu has no plans to sign a licensing deal with Microsoft, and US Linux market leader Red Hat has reiterated that it's not interested either.
"Novell, Xandros and Linspire have signed well-publicised agreements with Microsoft," Bancilhon wrote in his blog. "Rumors on the web have hinted that we might be next on the list. So we would like to clarify our position. As far as [intellectual property] is concerned, we are, to say the least, not great fans of software patents and of the current patent system, which we consider as counter productive for the industry as a whole. We also believe what we see, and up to now, there has been absolutely no hard evidence from any of the FUD propagators that Linux and open source applications are in breach of any patents. So we think that, as in any democracy, people are innocent unless proven guilty and we can continue working in good faith."
Bruce Perens, an open-source advocate and a founder of the non-profit group Open Source Initiative, said that Mandriva's stand is the right one. "Microsoft has been buying up deals with little fish and companies that aren't quite making it financially," he said of the Linspire, Xandros and Novell agreements. "So it has been easy for [Microsoft], because they have been going after small vendors and getting them [to sign]."
Jonathan Eunice, an analyst at Illuminata, said Microsoft's deals with Xandros and Linspire don't have the same impact as they would if they had been made with a major Linux vendor such as Red Hat. "I think Microsoft is going to second-tier players, and they're cutting deals with them because they are softer targets," Eunice said. More influential Linux vendors, such as Red Hat and Ubuntu, "don't need to take out the insurance policies" with Microsoft. "Plus, they benefit by appealing to the Linux stalwarts - those who feel that any deal with Microsoft is tarrying with the devil.
"This is about Microsoft trying to create the image that there's an intellectual property issue with Linux," Eunice said.
Daniel Kusnetzky, principal analyst at Kusnetzy, said that smart enterprise Linux users "will watch this but not let it control their decisions."
"Microsoft is trying to get people to move with little or no information on what their patent portfolio contains," he said.
Laura DiDio, an analyst at Boston-based Yankee Group Research, disagreed, arguing that the licensing deals are the right thing for some Linux vendors on a case-by-case basis.
"It makes sense for some of them to do this type of thing and indemnify their customers," DiDio said. "It can impact enterprise users if somebody decides to sue for patent infringement ... and they don't have any protection in place. That is always a danger and always a risk, particularly in large enterprises."
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Weeble | Published: 16:10 GMT, 22 June 2007
Bruce Perens is spot-on. MS is doing the community a favor by preying on the morally weaker parts of the community (those who don't understand and/or abide by the principles of Free Software) and ultimately taking them out of the herd. (You know what you get when you leave Microsoft and a partner in a closed room together, don't you? Microsoft.) In the meantime, Laura DiDio continues to earn her well-deserved nickname, "The DiDiot" by advocating indemnity in the face of NO EVIDENCE OF A THREAT, in fact in the face of WITHHOLDING any evidence that there IS a threat (which makes it that less likely tht there is one). She did the same thing when the fiaSCO was underway, and apparently did not learn. Of course, I guess you don't get paid if you don't babble something.
Why consult with Yankee Group Research? | Published: 15:36 GMT, 22 June 2007
As far as I am aware, every claim that Laura DiDio has ever publically made in connection with technology which has either been verified accurate or demonstrated incorrect has been demonstrated incorrect. I am unaware of anyone else issuing statements from Yankee Group Research. Given this track record, why would *anyone*, even a reporter seeking an alternate view, waste their time seeking out their thoughts? I'd rather hear what Bill Gates has to say on the matter than Laura DiDio. (No, I don't *want* to hear what Bill has to say on it - as cofounder of MS, his official view is rather well understood on this. We aren't going to hear his unofficial view from him ever - that he finds it exceedingly frustrating that these companies won't fall for his scam.)
John Mitchell | Published: 14:59 GMT, 22 June 2007
Well Ubuntu for example does not sell it's operating system. Canonical only sponsors Ubuntu so I can't see how they can be sued for selling Ubuntu if it's not sold in the first place. Also I can't see how a company can be sued for supporting Ubuntu. Who will they sue for patent infringements when it's free to the world to contribute to and is not owned by anyone? Who do they attack? IMHO, stick with a free distro and you are safe... :) Let's not forget that Microsoft has not proven any of these claims in the first place!
TemporalBeing | Published: 14:39 GMT, 22 June 2007
If you want to know how accurate DiDio really is, take a look at her work pertaining to the SCO Group, specifically related to SCO vs. IBM and SCO vs. Novell lawsuits. She does not hold a bit of authority with her louzy record. So take what she says and reverse it for the truth; in this case - it does not make sense for anyone to do what she is claiming, and it will not impact enterprises. Microsoft will not sue its customers (it's too smart for that); and lawsuits will happen between vendors, not vendors and customers.
Dave | Published: 13:53 GMT, 22 June 2007
Isn't is odd that MS would claim 235 patent's being infringed yet is afraid to revel them for fear that they would be challenged as prior art! Let's get one thing straight. MS is a convicted absconder of other peoples code/ technology so we can be almost certain that their fears of getting the patents knocked down are well founded. As for Laura DiDio do your homework. She figured prominently in the early days of the SCO attempt to $hake down the industry and, as I recall, there was some evidence that she was paid by MS to do so. So hearing her act as an 'expert' in the latest protection money scheme isn't surprising. She is hardly someone I would trust to provide accurate answers on any Linux issues or for an accurate account of the weather outside. Techworld should qualify their sources better before quoting them!
Mikko | Published: 12:48 GMT, 22 June 2007
Haven't we heard enough from that M$ whore?
John Grant | Published: 07:23 GMT, 22 June 2007
It's all a bluff and time to call them, SHOW US THE CODE. Ought to get the DoJ on side to make them (M$) to reval code as otherwise it's blackmail and that I believe is against the law ... like everything else M$ does ...
Frederik | Published: 03:57 GMT, 22 June 2007
The last comment is absolutely bullshit. If it makes no sense for ONE vendor, it makes no sense for ALL vendors. It's the same code and thus it must be the same situation for all who use it.
Don | Published: 00:04 GMT, 22 June 2007
Laura once again demonstrates why she's called "DiDiot" by many who are familiar with her prior statements about Linux
Laura DiDio | Published: 21:25 GMT, 21 June 2007
I gotta agree with "Laura Didn't Know". The fact that Laura DiDio has come out promoting the Microsoft side speaks volumes as to how strong Microsoft's position is.