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Linux Business Week Exclusive: Linux Kernel To Be Re-Written To Counter Microsoft FUD
IBM, Intel, the Open Source Development Labs, where Linux creator Linus Torvalds works, and other industry lights are planning to rob Microsoft of the ability to scare customers off of Linux by saying that the operating system is a patent infringer, informed sources say.
On January 25 they will supposedly announce that a consortium has been created that will rewrite the components in the Linux kernel that, it has been alleged, tread on other people's IP - or at least the 27 Microsoft patents that Linux supposedly infringes.
The consortium will reportedly be underwritten by the state of Oregon and the city of Beaverton and will recruit its staff from local universities, which will also be backing the effort. The governor of Oregon and the mayor of Beaverton will reportedly be at the announcement.
The tactic is called "Operation Open Gates."
The Linux kernel supposedly infringes on 283 (unidentified) patents according to the wannabe insurance start-up Open Source Risk Management. The patents were reviewed by Free Software Foundation counsel Daniel Ravicher, a patent attorney who also runs the Public Patent Foundation.
Ravicher refused to identify the patents, in order that Linux users couldn't be charged with willful infringement.
Microsoft's patents are regarded as the most dangerous, although at least another third of the 283 patents are owned by other people with little to lose in threatening enterprise Linux users with litigation in hopes of winning a handsome settlement. The rest are owned by companies known to be friendly to Linux like IBM, HP, Intel, and Novell.
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驱动之家进行了相关的报道:
IBM, Intel,开放源代码开发实验室(Open Source Development Labs)等公司准备宣布它们已经成立一个协会并将重写Linux核心组件,据称这些组件侵犯了其它人的知识产权,其中涉及至少27项微软专利。
这一被称为“开门行动”的举动将令微软无法再恐吓Linux客户说该系统侵犯专利。
据说Linux内核侵犯了多达283项专利,不过这个数目未经证实。其中触及到的微软专利被认为最为危险,尽管至少另外1/3的专利拥有者也以诉讼威胁Linux企业用户,剩下的一些专利的持有人是诸如IBM, HP, Intel和Novell等对Linux友好的公司。
新闻来源:Linuxworld |
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