While Red Hat welcomed Microsoft's recent decision to comply with the European Court of First Instance's antitrust ruling, Michael Cunningham, general counsel for Red Hat, stated that the company was still concerned about Microsoft's patent model. "We are reviewing the European Commission's announcement in the Microsoft abuse case and congratulate the Commission on the improvements announced," Cunningham said in a statement. "Our enthusiasm is somewhat tempered, however, by concerns that the patent arrangements may have not been made compatible with open-source licensing, especially given the pro-competitive effects to consumers of the open-source model."
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Member since:2005-07-17
exactly, the EU lost the case on a technicality in the settlement. They settled for Microsoft having ANY rights on other people designing software to access their OS. The whole point of the EU's argument is that if you have an office of windows computers you have the right as the owner of the computer to use Mac or Samba or whatever to access your files on those machines.
Just like you can have other printers or monitors attached to your computer, you should have other file sharing devices attached. The EU was viewing the file sharing rightfully as a "black box". They were requiring a "manual" for how to interface, not requiring Microsoft to release code, or write code for other people... very reasonable. In meat-space there's no comparison to software, you can take a part off your car an make a copy in a machine shop if there's a real need for it, in software you're not even allowed to "measure" to see how to fit the part! So the govt had to step in. This should have been FREE, as in part of the owner's manual for windows. it's critical information how to USE your computer in a mixed environment, not something Microsoft has a right to keep given their market position. It would be like GM trying to make their own gas stations and actually enforce it.
Microsoft was waiting for IP rights because now they have the power to control competition, they'll rewrite the terms for the next service pack and demand the 10k over and over. OSS, the only real competition and the EU just stabbed the citizens and computer purchasers in the back.
Member since:
2006-04-26
It's almost like the EU took a page out of the US antitrust ruling. The language is worded in such a way that the one major competitor of MS (Open Source software) cannot benefit from it. Microsoft's lawyers must be cheering.
That the EU would accept this is very strange to me. It's akin to the US remedy where MS had to provide free vouchers for MS software. It isn't a punishment in any way. After all this time, effort, and money, MS can still go on its merry way like there was never a ruling in the first place. It's astounding.