Microsoft lawyer: Open-source war is over
Published: 20 Oct 2008 11:49 BST
Microsoft thinks the battle between open-source and proprietary software is as good as over.
"Today, but increasingly in the future, we are all going to be 'mixed source'," Microsoft's top intellectual-property lawyer said in an interview on Thursday.
To bolster his claim, Horacio Gutierrez noted Microsoft is releasing plenty of software as open source, while open-source companies like Red Hat often license commercial software alongside their open-source products. "I actually think the war between proprietary and open source is a thing of the past," he said.
That doesn't mean Microsoft is ready to embrace Red Hat, or other companies that have not made an intellectual-property deal with Redmond, with open arms just yet. While Microsoft is patient, Gutierrez indicated that Microsoft's patience is not unlimited.
"If every effort to license proves not to be fruitful, ultimately we have a responsibility to customers that have licences and to our shareholders to ensure our intellectual property is respected," he said.
The software giant has, on a number of occasions, asserted that Linux violates many Microsoft patents. However, Microsoft has never sued a company over those claims.
Gutierrez said he would like to keep that record intact, noting that the Novell deal, in particular, is an example of how working with a rival can ultimately benefit both companies.
It is generally thought that, if you want to kill a good technical discussion, just bring in the lawyers. But Gutierrez said that the truth is often the complete opposite.
In fact, he credited Microsoft's stepped-up licensing efforts, which began five years ago, for having helped the company find a way to talk to rivals that it had shunned in the past.
"It is truly a business mechanism to start discussions that weren't possible before," he said.
Read this
Microsoft gears up for victory in the virtual battle
ZDNet talks to Zane Adam, Microsoft's senior director for virtualisation product management
He noted that, before software patents were in widespread use, companies were reluctant to share any technical details, jealously guarding all their know-how as trade secrets — another form of intellectual-property protection that largely requires information to be kept confidential.
Patents remain a double-edged sword for Microsoft, however. Gutierrez said the company is defending about 50 patent cases at the moment — half of all the company's litigation proceedings.
While some are high-profile cases, such as the disputes with Alcatel-Lucent, most are with companies that don't actually make goods related to the patents they hold.
In an effort to help head off patent disputes, Microsoft is an investor in Nathan Myrhvold's patent-buying Intellectual Ventures effort and has also made deals with several other such patent companies. "We've done deals with a number of others," Gutierrez said.
On the positive side are deals like the Novell one, Gutierrez said: Novell has grown its business, Microsoft has received added revenue and customers have ended up with products that work better together. Gutierrez said he expects more deals along the lines of the ones Microsoft struck with Novell and Sun.
"We have tasted the opportunity to put [intellectual property] to work in a very constructive way that leads to better products and more satisfied customers," he said.
Credit: Microsoft: We're all 'mixed source' companies from CNET News
Did you find this article useful?
2 out of 2 people found this useful
Digg
Slashdot
Del.ici.ous
Stumble
Reddit
