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● 11.03.08

●● Does OpenSUSE Board Member Shelter Microsoft’s Patents?

Posted in GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Novell, OpenSUSE, Patents at 8:35 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Lobbying the wrong way

IS the Bilski ruling considered good news or bad news to Novell? Probably a bit of both.

Software patents may be dying, but much like the USPTO, there’s refusal to acknowledge such a thing at Novell. We have not found a formal response or statement from Novell (yet), but one of the key people (the most voted for) in OpenSUSE is not exactly optimistic.

=> may be dying | like the USPTO | most voted for | ↺ is not exactly optimistic

I wouldn’t conclude to Shantanu’s “Microsoft Has A Problem: Software Patents Go Up In Smoke” for several reasons:software patents aren’t gone yet, not by any means, but the Bilski decision seems to at least discard the most ridiculous and invasive oneswe still have to see how that court decision translates into what the USPTO will grant as patents or not, as the fact that a patent should be granted or not doesn’t really relate to what patent offices actually grant (just think of what the EPO has been doing for years)

Whether intended or not, Pascal gives ammunition to those who will object to generalising the decision and fighting software patents.

While Pascal is right about some things, he ought to understand that patent lawyers will attack the decision and software patents are good for Novell, which keeps pursuing them.

=> keeps pursuing them

Novell is using patents as a competitive tool to capture markets at the expense of companies like Red Hat and markets which require compatibility with Microsoft. █

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