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Microsoft wants Linux to stay, joins Open Invention Network
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IANS | 11 Oct, 2018
After waging years of legal battles against firms working on open source
technologies, Microsoft is now joining the Open Invention Network
("OIN"), a community dedicated to protecting Linux and other open source
software programmes from patent risk.
The decision reflects a
change in attitude of the software giant which earlier considered open
sources technologies a threat to its business and alleged that these
technologies violated their patent rights.
"We know Microsoft's
decision to join OIN may be viewed as surprising to some; it is no
secret that there has been friction in the past between Microsoft and
the open source community over the issue of patents," Erich Andersen,
Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel at Microsoft wrote
in a blog post on Wednesday.
"For others who have followed our
evolution, we hope this announcement will be viewed as the next logical
step for a company that is listening to customers and developers and is
firmly committed to Linux and other open source programmes," Andersen
added.
Microsoft said it would bring a valuable and deep portfolio of over 60,000 issued patents to OIN.
"Now,
as we join OIN, we believe Microsoft will be able to do more than ever
to help protect Linux and other important open source workloads from
patent assertions," Andersen said.
"Joining OIN reflects
Microsoft's patent practice evolving in lock-step with the company's
views on Linux and open source more generally."
The change at
Microsoft, Andersen said, began over two years ago through programmes
like Azure IP Advantage, which extended Microsoft's indemnification
pledge to open source software powering Azure services.
"We
doubled down on this new approach when we stood with Red Hat and others
to apply GPL v. 3 "cure" principles to GPL v. 2 code, and when we
recently joined the LOT Network, an organisation dedicated to addressing
patent abuse by companies in the business of assertion," Andersen
said.
Since its founding in 2005, OIN has been at the forefront
of helping companies manage patent risks. It has more than 2,650
members, including numerous Fortune 500 enterprises.
"Through its
participation in OIN, Microsoft is explicitly acknowledging the
importance of open source software to its future growth," Keith Bergelt,
CEO of Open Invention Network, said in a statement.
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