[Discussioni] [Benjamin Henrion <bh a udev.org>: Microsoft will trump EU competition ruling with patents]

[Francesco Potorti`]

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Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 12:11:18 +0200
From: Benjamin Henrion <bh a udev.org>
Subject: Microsoft will trump EU competition ruling with patents
To: it-parl a ffii.org

FFII PRESS RELEASE -- [ Europe / Economy / Innovation ]

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Microsoft will trump EU competition ruling with patents
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Brussels, 17 September 2007 -- The Foundation for a Free Information
Infrastructure (FFII) says that Microsoft was expecting the 17 September
verdict of the EU's anti-trust case, and will exploit software patents
to keep its monopoly grip on the global IT market.

FFII president Pieter Hintjens explains, "The decision seems positive
but it is five years out of date. During that time, Microsoft has
lobbied for software patents in Europe and bought patents on many
trivial concepts. It has claimed patent violations against Linux, put
patent timebombs into its formats and interfaces, and turned fear of
patents into a core part of its business strategy. It will now open its
formats, because that lets it extend its software patent franchise even
further."

Microsoft recently published its MCPP (Microsoft Communications Protocol
Program) patent licence which requires competitors to pay royalties for
each copy of software distributed. For example, a free software project
making a print server would have to pay USD$8 to Microsoft for each copy
downloaded.

"The largest monopolist in history has faced down the largest economy in
history," says Benjamin Henrion of the FFII's Brussels Office.
"Microsoft will appeal, and the fines if ever paid are just a month or
two of profits. Meanwhile Microsoft now has the time to crush its only
real competition, the free and open source economy. We regret that the
EU Commission and ECJ are blind to the real threat of software patents,
while Microsoft cleverly exploits Europe's own patent system against EU
businesses. This is a defeat for Europe's anti-trust, a defeat for the
global economy, and I'm sure they're popping the champagne in Redmond."


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Background Information
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In the proceedings of the EU antitrust trial, Microsoft states that its
communication protocols are covered by at least 3 European patents or
patent applications (namely patents 'EP 0661652', 'EP 0438571' and 'EP
0669020'). In addition, another 20 patent applications are pending in
the United States, as are 2 in Europe (in its reply, Microsoft states
that one of its two applications has since been granted, namely patent
'EP 1004193'). Moreover, Microsoft is planning to apply for 'some 130
European patents relating to Windows server operating systems'.

Jeremy Allison, leader of SAMBA, the open source project file and print
services for Linux/Unix servers and Windows-based clients, mentioned
recently in LinuxWorld that the MCPP patent licences will make
impossible for open source to use them:

"We read the license, it's impossible to release open source
implementations of the product. You have to keep it secret. This defeats
the whole idea of open source."


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Links
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* Microsoft: Pricing Overview for patented protocols
  http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/intellectualproperty/protocols/PricingOverview.mspx

* IDSC: Hearing report of Microsoft antitrust case (PDF, 7.5MB)
  http://www.isdc.ch/d2wfiles/document/4432/4017/0/Microsoftrapportaudience.pdf

* Microsoft EP661652: Distributed file system
  http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=EP0661652&F=0

* Microsoft EP438571: Method and system for open file caching in
  a networked computer system
  http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=EP0438571&F=0

* Microsoft EP669020: A method and system for marshalling interface
  pointers for remote procedure calls
  http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=EP0669020&F=0

* LinuxWorld: Open source proponents denounce Microsoft licensing program
  http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2007/090607-open-source-denounce-microsoft-licensing.html

* Permanent link to this press release
  http://press.ffii.org/Press_releases/Microsoft_will_trump_EU_competition_ruling_with_patents

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Contact
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Benjamin Henrion
FFII Brussels
+32-2-414 84 03
+32-484-566 109
bhenrion at ffii.org
(French/English)

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About the FFII
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The FFII is a not-for-profit association active in over thirty
countries, dedicated to the development of information goods
for the public benefit, based on copyright, free competition, open
standards.
More than 850 members, 3,500 companies and 100,000 supporters
have entrusted the FFII to act as their voice in public policy
questions concerning exclusion rights (intellectual property) in data
processing.

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