Re: Pseudo-Patent-Free Microsoft Standard

[Moderator note: This mail was sent to To: Bernard Lang
<Bernard.Lang@inria.fr> and CC: patents@aful.org,
C-FIT_Community@realmeasures.dyndns.org,
C-FIT_Release_Community@realmeasures.dyndns.org,
www-patentpolicy-comment@w3.org, fairuse-discuss@mrbrklyn.com,
usenet@consulting.net.nz, rms@gnu.org]

Can anybody translate this?  Bernard is documenting MS
intent to attack free software by means of patents.

Seth

Bernard Lang wrote:
>
>  On Sat, Apr 06, 2002 at 10:02:57AM +0200, PILCH Hartmut wrote:
>  > > (Microsoft just can't cope with the idea that standards
>  > > are supposed to be used by everyone.  So they are hooking
>  > > up their patents via their license.  We simply can't turn
>  > > our back on them for one second.  -- Seth Johnson)
>  > >
>  > > http://www.advogato.org/article/453.html
>  >
>  > Unfortunately we still do not know about the EPO situation
>  > concerning these Microsoft applications.  As usual, the US
>  > patent doesn't contain information on a parallel EP or WO
>  > patent application.  Yet these could very well exist.   In
>  > 1993 the EPO was already granting patents on the most
>  > abstract mathematical methods, and of course the above
>  > claim language looked "technical" enough for the EPO to
>  > consider it not pertaining to a programming solution as
>  > such -- indeed it is more a problem than a solution that
>  > is claimed.  Also, an application from 1993 would most
>  > likely have been granted around 1998 by the EPO.
>  >
>  > For research into this, you may want to use
>  >
>  >         http://www.depatisnet.de/
>  >         http://www.espacenet.com/
>  >         http://www.delphion.com/
>  >
>  > Using a few key words from the two US applications (such
>  > as Microsoft, "inventor"'s name, text strings from the
>  > claims etc) should get you there.
>
>  I do not know whether that is essential, though proper
>  information never hurts.
>
>  The data below seems more important to me, because it
>  shows a systematic attack based on interoperability, using
>  existing hold on the market to extend to new areas.  Very
>  precisely what anti-trust regulation forbids.
>
>  Can someone translate precisely the excerpt from Heise
>
>  Auf die Ãffnung des .NET-Framework
>  angesprochen, kündigte Ballmer an, dass es
>  sicherlich eine
>  Common-Language-Runtime-Implementation für
>  Unix geben werde, schrÃ?nkte diese Entwicklung
>  jedoch als Subset ein, der "nur für den
>  akademischen Einsatz gedacht sei". Ãberlegungen
>  zur Unterstützung freier .NET-Implementationen
>  wie Mono erteilte Ballmer eine Absage
>
>  "Wir haben so viele Millionen in .NET gesteckt,
>  wir haben so viele Patente auf .NET, die wir
>  pflegen wollen."
>
>  Reference:
>    Steve Ballmer: Kein Tänzchen an der Leine
>    Detlef Borchers, Heise online, 12.03.2002
>    http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/jk-12.03.02-000/
> 
>http://www.heise.de/bin/nt.print/newsticker/data/jk-12.03.02-000/?id=bb59a8c6&todo=print
>
>  Bernard
>
>  PS Are there other speeches by Ballmer or others
>  with similar statements ?  especially use of patents
>  to kill open source.
>
>  > As MS is using these swpats for its crusades against
>  > the GPL, We need to document this stuff quickly and
>  > thouroughly, see also
>  >
>  >         http://swpat.ffii.org/news/index.en.html#m023E
>  >
>  > and some help would be very much appreciated.
>
>  --
>Non aux Brevets Logiciels  -  No to Software Patents
>SIGNEZ    http://petition.eurolinux.org/    SIGN
>
>Bernard.Lang@inria.fr             ,_  /\o    \o/    Tel  +33 1 3963 5644
>http://pauillac.inria.fr/~lang/  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  Fax  +33 1 3963 5469
>INRIA / B.P. 105 / 78153 Le Chesnay CEDEX / France
>Je n'exprime que mon opinion - I express only my opinion
>CAGED BEHIND WINDOWS or FREE WITH LINUX

-- 

[CC] Counter-copyright:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/cc/cc.html

Received on Sunday, 7 April 2002 20:34:24 UTC