Don't wanna pay for Linux? Beware of software patents
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| Do you really want to wake up one morning and pay Microsoft or SUN royalties
| to have the right to use Linux on each of your boxes? Probably not. However,
| if companies continue playing the little game of open source vs. software
| patenting, that time might come much sooner than you think.
|
| Take Microsoft for instance, they have a great code repository called
| CodePlex, one of their show-rooms for open source development advocacy.
| Except that in the last months, developers have lost their ability to license
| their code under the GPLv3. As we've shown earlier, Microsoft don’t like the
| GPLv3 because it provides protection against software patenting.
|
| The latest victim to date is MySQL who has always had a very strong stance
| against software patent. But like Icarus flying too closely from the sun,
| MySQL burned its wings: their anti-patent manifesto has abruptly disappeared
| from their site. (The complete story here).
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http://blog.milkingthegnu.org/2008/03/when-the-ip-law.html
GPLv3. GPLv3. GPLv3.
Related:
Why does Microsoft seem scared of GPLv3?
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| Microsoft is extremely keen to avoid "legal debate" over whether its recent
| partnerships with Linux firms such as Novell, Xandros, and Linspire, mean
| Redmond must assume any of the new licenses' legal obligations.
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http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/soa/Why-does-Microsoft-seem-scared-of-GPLv3-/0,130061733,339279673,00.htm
FSF Says GPLv3 Means Microsoft Patent Protection for All
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| Microsoft's covenant not to sue users of Novell's SUSE Linux
| Enterprise will be extended to all General Public License v3
| users as soon as Novell includes GPLv3 code within its Linux
| distribution, according to the Free Software Foundation.
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http://www.computerwire.com/industries/research/?pid=E86B6EA6-EC51-43DF-A305-9939E5829EFC
Microsoft Strikes GPLv3 Software From Linspire Patent Deal
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| Microsoft says software that's licensed under a new version of a popular open
| source license isn't covered by the patent protection deal it recently signed
| with desktop Linux distributor Linspire.
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http://www.informationweek.com/windows/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201001836
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