April 20, 2009
Has Microsoft lost its war on open source?
Open source proponents say that it doesn't matter anymore if Microsoft threatens them with legal battles
81 RecommendationsIs Microsoft a friend or foe of open source? Going by the company's actions, Microsoft can't seem to decide whether to make love or war. But if it's war, Microsoft appears to lack the legal weaponry to defeat or even disturb its adversaries.
On one hand, Microsoft has extended an olive branch to the open source community, donating code to projects and backing big-name open source organizations like the Apache Software Foundation as part of an effort to do more than ever to acknowledge that it must work alongside open source, not fight it.
[ Discover where open source is heading from the movement's leaders in InfoWorld's "state of open source" roundtable. ]
On the other, it has continued to seek payments for patents it holds that are found in open source technologies and in general uphold its proprietary intellectual property licensing strategy -- the opposite of the philosophy behind open source. Microsoft has long held patent-infringement and possible litigation over the heads of open source vendors, at one time claiming that Linux infringed on more than 230 of its patents.
Whatever dastardly plans Microsoft may have in reserve, open source companies, developers, and proponents say it doesn't really matter. With open source a powerful business model and force in its own right, they are more secure than ever that the software giant poses no real threat to their movement.
It will take more than Microsoft to stop the momentum that open source -- in particular Linux, which powers some of the largest networks in the world, including Google's -- has in the market, they say.
"Is its future threatened? No. Open source isn't going anywhere," says Stephen O'Grady, an analyst with RedMonk. Even if Microsoft were to assert all of the patents the company claims to hold in Linux and other open source projects -- which it would have a hard time doing -- it still could not stop developers from using open source tools and software nor stop companies from adopting open source business models, he adds. "[Open source] is a style and an approach and a model that is here to stay," O'Grady says.
Real change at Microsoft in accepting open source
Most recently, Microsoft settled a patent-infringement case it filed against GPS device maker TomTom over patents that involved TomTom's implementation of Linux, a case that stirred up old feelings among open source companies that Microsoft plans to reignite a patent fight against them. Microsoft insisted the TomTom suit was a patent issue and not any specific grievance against Linux or open source software.
Most of the Linux community accepted that assessment, but leaders such as Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, says that any patent litigation against a technology that involves open source will keep the community wary. "It's just another example in the mind of an open source developer that this is not a positive company to be jointly working on development projects with," he adds.
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roopesh
23-Apr-09 1:25pm
"Microsoft does not sell software that lets folks freely innovate; it sells software that lets folks innovate after paying Microsoft for Microsoft software and requires users of the innovation to pay Microsoft as well"
Heard of BizSpark? DreamSpark? These are some fantastic initiatives Microsoft has taken in the recent past to reverse this allegation, especially for Startups and students. Not free for all yet, but still its hell of a good start - more established software vendors will any way have long-term licensing tie ups with Microsoft if they require MS products.
shadfurman
23-Apr-09 3:40pm
The kool-aid people spew about Microsoft not supporting open source, or that Microsoft holding proprietary IP and supporting open source are not compatible is absurd. MANY companies (Apple, TomTom, Google) all use open source AND have proprietary IP, but I've never read an article about THOSE companies. There was a time when Microsoft portrayed an image, and probably was, anti-open source. But open source as a community isn't that old, at least they're supporting and even assisting in the development of open source now which is a lot more than many other companies are doing. Sure they're not Novell, but they're doing more for innovation that people give them credit for. I really dislike this bigoted view of Microsoft, it drains my faith in peoples abilities to think logically. I would suggest the author of this article rethink his premise and try again... just my suggestion.
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