RedHat and Novell has been sued for Patent Infringement.

Check the URL.

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?s...71011205044141

They'll just lose a lot of money...it's a dead end right from the start, to start a patent argue with companies that are based around Linux. Anybody remember Vietnam, how big money big guns failed to do what they boasted? This sounds like such an act in software forests..

What people do for money...

If it was M$ this wouldn't happen, just show some money and they start drooling. If it wasn't for Linux the idea for "User Interface with Multiple Workspaces for Sharing Display System Objects" would be buried and forgot long time ago.

Sure hope this will end up with no prejudice for the Linux community.

Cheers,
Hyakutake

Hi,

I don't think 'we' (the linux community) have anything to worry about.

This lawsuit is not attacking (GNU)Linux. It is targeting companies that make money selling linux (Red Hat and Novell in this case), who provide a system with a certain GUI, the GUI supposedly infringes on the patent.

Nevertheless I truly hate this out of control patent BS! I hope Europe will not go were the US has gone/is going.

what exactly is a "User Interface with Multiple Workspaces for Sharing Display System Objects"?.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Berlind/?p=833&tag=nl.e540

Speculation on the connections with Microsoft.....

Read the comments on Groklaw, it seems IBM may have a patent related to this:

http://www.groklaw.net/comment.php?m...633134#c633160

Prior art!

Screw M$, Balmer and Gates!! They are just upset that Vista was such a flop and that more and more people are switching to Linux.

How can they sue Novell when they signed some weird agreement with them that supposedly covers Novell users from such crap?

If M$ was smart they would just give up on the windows kernel and develop their own brand of linux.


They have can my GNU/Linux when they pry it from my dead hands.

How do we know that M$ will force the linux users to pay something for using a patented feature in linux in the near future? All I know is if M$ affects linux in some way in the future, I'll use freebsd, solaris or mac. I will try my best to stay away from M$ and windows.

Hi,

Up untill now Microsoft has been trying to scare the general public with their 'linux infringes 200+ patents!!!!!'
When asked which parts are actually patented, Microsoft refuses to tell us (the offending code will probably be fixed/re-written within hours ). Sounds like scare tactics to me, buts that just my 2c.

I do believe that Microsoft will keep an eye on this case and as pixellany already pointed out, there could already be a microsoft connection to this case.

They will definitely try to undermine the linux/foss community and some people will be (are already?) intimidated. On the other hand: Microsoft is starting to feel the shift that is going on. More and more people are fed up with the way Microsoft does business and are looking for and finding alternatives and linux is getting more and more 'Desktop ready'. I think that they will feel the 'linux-effect' a lot more then the other way around.

I have to admit that certain users still need windows (gamers especially) and I hope that this issue will be resolved shortly (although I doubt it). The gamers could buy a dedicated game box (as long as it is not an Xbox ) and use linux on their pc's......

On a personal note: Windows95 is the last Microsoft OS I ran at home, removed it in 1996 and I'm running linux (and os x) ever since.

MS is not the one who is suing. And in any case, MS did not agree not sue Novell. They agreed not sue Novell's customers, and even then not everything is covered by the agreement. But these lawsuits don't (officially) involve MS. Whether there is behind the scenes shenanigans -- well that's a different matter.

Well, the point is probably not sueing jane and john enduser but companies supporting and marketing Linux and Linux services. The percentage of Linux on a desktop isn't that extensively high to really get afraid of, but if you take a closer look into the market of "servers" of any kind and "embedded systems", Linux has its strength and its place.

And I'm assuming that's what they targeting all in all - starting with sueing against a basic functionality.

And as SuSE isn't any longer an independent company outside the US and Red Hat, Novell and several others are all located in the US where this patent stuff actually applies and has some influence, this might have a really nasty outcome for Linux companies in the US.

And it's very shortsighted to assume we EU citizens don't need to care about that, because a second wave of lobbying towards software patents in the EU will follow - or the EU is at last forced to implement some kind of similar patent system due to further TRIPS agreements.

Which might be leading to something like "Linux as a hobbyist's operating system", but no more Linux companies.

The war has begun...Well,maybe they will not have the time for this war,because,as Sarcosy lately said,another war is going to begin very soon...How many wars can USA begin simultaneously?Let us see...

Sorry about my spelling, I mean Nicolas Sarkozy,the French president.

And actually France warns the world for the worst case scenario-war-.In Linux,which is the worst case scenario for all of us?Back to Windows,Mac, Solaris,or what?