praka123
left this forum longback
What will M$FT do to FOSS people,do they sue?I'd like M$ to be sued for what other things they may have copied from UNIX and Linux into their closed source Operating System
*digitaltippingpoint.com/wiki/index.php?title=Sue_me_first%2C_Microsoft
source:Sue me first, Microsoft
From DTPWiki
Welcome to our "Sue me first, Microsoft" invitation page
Hello, and welcome to our Microsoft lawsuit invitational. This page is intended to be a place where people would like to join together to invite a Microsoft patent infringement lawsuit. If you would like to invite a visit by Brad Smith, Microsoft's head litigator, please feel free to add your name here. We are asking that people include their name, email address, version of GNU Linux disto(s) being used, and a short statement explaining why you are using that distro.
IMPORTANT! We have had so much traffic, we have had to close pages 01 through 10. Please now go to SMFM list page 11 to ad your name!
Not legal advice
- 1 Not legal advice
- 2 Assessing the (non) threat
- 3 Why Microsoft is stepping up its threats now
- 4 Why I am offering to be sued
- 5 For Free Open Source Software users outside the US
- 6 And now for the belly laughs section
- 7 The Sue me first names list
Is this risky business? Probably not. I am a lawyer, and I am not impressed by Microsoft's patent infringement allegations against GNU Linux users. However, I can't offer anyone any legal advice, because I don't practice IP law, and lawyers are not supposed to offer blanket legal advice on websites. So this is not legal advice, nor even a legal opinion. This page is just my personal opinion as to why I am not scared that Microsoft is going to sue me personally. I also don't really see them suing anyone else, frankly, but again, that is not a legal opinion, just common sense.
Why I am offering to be sued
I believe that Microsoft is hurting competition on the desktop, which affects me directly as a consumer of desktop software. I believe it is for the good of society for Microsoft's patent claims to be tested in a court of law. If Microsoft wins, then so be it. If Microsoft loses, then the rest of us can get on with creating innovative business models for desktop software. I am not challenging Microsoft this way because I hate Microsoft. I don't admire their software, nor do I admire their business models, but I am not challenging them because I want to sink their ship or damage their business or harm their reputation. I am really only interested in seeing whether their claims have any merit, which I think is probably not the case.
The other reason that I am offering to be sued and encouraging others to offer to be sued is that we will have the chance to show the world how many people really use Free Open Source Software directly on the desktop. Of course, all of us use Free Open Source Software when we use Google or YouTube or Wikipedia or Yahoo or the Internet Archive, because all of these companies use Free Open Source Software as an important part of delivering their services. And if Microsoft's threat just hangs like a dark cloud over all that innovation, we will all be the worse off for it. But I am talking about us uniting on one list to show the world how many institutions and individuals use Free Open Source Software.
Maybe this list will never go anywhere. On the other hand, it will be fun to try!
So c'mon, Microsoft. If I infringed your patents, show me. After all, I am one of the members of a distributed team of film makers who is trying to document the real world digital tipping point that is probably pushing you to rattle the litigation saber anyway, and I am attempting to use all Free Open Source Software tools to do so. If you can shut me up, all the better for you!
*digitaltippingpoint.com/wiki/index.php?title=Sue_me_first%2C_Microsoft
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