[Sussex] Five Reasons Why Microsoft Will Not Sue Linux {Was: It had to happen]

[Steven Dobson]

Hi guys

1). Suing your customers is bad.

We've see this in SCO v IBM, we've seen this with the RIAA.  Any large
users of Linux are likely to also be a large user of Windows too.  So
Microsoft can't sue a very large portion of the Linux community because
they also happen to be customers of Microsoft.

2). Too many eye balls looking for prior art.

If Microsoft was to sue some one in the Linux community then they would
have to expose their patients to the scrutiny of millions of eyeballs
looking for prior art.  How long do you think Microsoft's patients would
stand up to that?  We have a benchmark: three days!  That's how long it
took the community to debunk SCO's infringing code.

3). Patient trolls would be circling.

Anyone, not just the trolls, would be be checking their own portfolios
to see if any of their patents would trump any of Microsoft's.  IANAL,
but as I understand it, if you don't defend your patient you run the
risk of losing it in the future.

4). Counter patient claims could be crippling.

Because of the way software patients are written Microsoft does hold
patients that Linux infringes, but the reverse is also true.
Microsoft's Windows infringes patients held by Sun for Solaria, IBM for
AIX/Dynix, WindRiver for VxWorks.

If Microsoft lost a significant number of these claims then it could
find itself paying out more in license fees to third parties then it
made on each Window's sale, and the settlement over past Windows sales
would probably stay in the Guinness Book of World Records for all time.

I kinda like the idea of Microsoft having to pay for that copy of
Windows that came "free" with my laptop and I never used.

5). A Microsoft win would adversely effect the US economy.

If using Linux in the USA incurs a new tax then this will only make US
companies less competitive to their international counterparts.  So ask
yourself these questions:

a). How many of the web servers on the Internet that run Linux are
located in the USA?

b). How many of these could be re-located off-short (to the EU or
India)?

c). How many of the Fortune 500 companies would find it cheaper to lobby
Congress to repeal the current US Software Patient laws and replaces
them with something more suitable to their business?

This deal between Novell and Microsoft, has not increased the risk of
Microsoft suing Linux one bit.  It's a business move nothing more
nothing less.

Steve