Convicted Monopolist Terrorizes Software Industry

by Michael J. Jordan, Managing Editor

May 18, 2007

That headline is designed to grab your attention. Sensationalistic as it may be, it also happens to be true, if what you mean by 'terrorize' is to provoke fear.

If you've been following the presidential race in the United States, you know the present crop of candidates have been exploiting the fear of the American people as they never have before in the history of the country. The Republican debate the other night seemed to devolve into a contest of who would be the better torturer. According to the GOP presidential wannabees, extreme measures are needed to protect the public against the "threats" out there and no sissies need apply to be leader of the free world. The Republicans aren't the only ones stoking the fear fire. The saber rattling got so loud at the last Democratic debate that it prompted the virtually unknown candidate Mike Gravel to admit, in an emotionally charged rebuttal, that the other candidates "frightened" him. Gravel, an elder candidate from saner, though no less dangerous times (as senator, some of his actions may have helped speed up the end of the Vietnam war), along with fellow Democrat Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul for the Republicans, seem to be the only presidential hopefuls not playing the fear card. And where are they in the polls compared with Rudolph Giuliani, Hilary Clinton or Barack Obama? Light years behind, that's where they are. Conclusion: Fear sells.

Yes, fear sells. Microsoft knows this. And if they can't sell software (it would seem that the tepid response to Vista would prove this), then they'll try selling some fear. This week, they're selling it wholesale. They've made this clear via an article in Fortune this past Monday. In it, Microsoft chief counsel Brad Smith claimed that the Linux kernel, along with other Open Source and Free Software applications, infringed on over 200 patents owned by Bill Gates and company. The article got into specifics on which applications violated the patents and contained an indirect threat of lawsuits.

Actually, this is not the first time that Microsoft has made statements about Linux and patents. There have been other veiled threats before. Though this threat contains the most specific allegations so far, it won't be the last either. It might be a good idea for the Linux community to adopt a color-coded Microsoft threat chart. They think that these threats beef up sales by making companies think twice about Linux solutions, but like those Homeland Security alerts, they may be starting to wear a little thin. As Microsoft was slow in grasping the potential of the internet, they may not be able to grasp the public's wants with respect to patents and their enforcement. The fact that the announcement has come after the recent US Supreme Court decision dealing with invalidation of patents, makes it look like the software giant didn't even take this into account. The court's ruling confirms the feelings of everybody in the software industry but Microsoft - nobody wants a full-scale patent war.

If Microsoft does formally declare war and start hostilities against Linux companies (perhaps start with Red Hat), what would happen? Microsoft must realize that IBM, which is on our side now, has its own huge patent portfolio and could counter with some patent litigation of its own. Having been on the receiving end of patent suits before, Microsoft knows how costly this could be for them. And since Free and Open Source software is now mainstream, Linux servers exist practically everywhere. Would they sue major banks, oil companies, Hollywood studios, governments? Microsoft would have to start suing some of its biggest customers.

Microsoft may be a behemoth, but they're not big enough to take on the world in the courts. For now, they'll just play the fear card. But even fear will get you so far. Then what happens when nobody's afraid anymore?

Michael J. Jordan is Managing Editor of Linux Online. He can be reached at Michael.Jordan**AT**linux.org