Comments on: Microsoft tax on Linux’s horizon ?

By: Stefano Forenza

Stefano Forenza — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:21:53 +0000

@KimTjik: the location of businesses doesn’t matter. They’re liable as long as they sell in the USA – a market too important to be left alone. As products are engineered to be sold world-wide, the dumbness of some country’s patent system, condition all the products sold world-wide. For example, does Dell ship a (beer)free DVD codec in countries where software patents does not apply ? I never checked, but I am sure: of course not.
Also the massive past investments and accumulated patent portfolio, will put a great pressure on the patent system’s overhaul to be made (if it will ever be made). I wouldn’t bet my ass things will change soon.

@Anonymous: the lacking of price difference (or even worse, the fact the Ubuntu version was sometime slightly costier) has been lamented many times on Dell’s IdeaStorm. (see also my answer to KimTjik: do you think the DVD codecs shipped with Ubuntu by Dell are free ?)

@Skymt: that’s the point of my post. How you can compete with free ? You make Linux ‘costly’. As simple as that, Linux looses one of its biggest strengths. And FUD will keep raining on independent developers and small businesses, yay !

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:17:15 +0000

There is a price advantage for Dell Ubuntu computers: $50, the cost of an OEM license for Windows.

By: skymt

skymt — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:03:23 +0000

Worst-case scenario: Microsoft is serious about enforcing its FAT patents. The vfat driver would be removed from the official kernel in the next release, distributions follow suit. Most distributions would provide a point-and-click way to add a FAT driver (possibly vfat, perhaps a FUSE-based port) to those outside software-patent countries or who just don’t care. Similar things have been done in the past with media codecs and libdvdcss. That leaves only commercial desktop distros to pay the “Microsoft tax”. It would suck, but it isn’t Armageddon.

By: KimTjik

KimTjik — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 08:56:28 +0000

It might happen in some limited scale. It will however be a strictly US business. I’m not sure what implications such a scenario will have:
- companies will search for a base somewhere else but not in the US?
- products sold in the US will have an added “tax” on the price tag?

Even in the US companies choose court carefully before deciding to file a lawsuit. Why? Because not even in the US every court will “upheld” ridiculous interpretations of an outdated patent system.

Lets see what happens first: Microsoft’s success in catching Linux in a tight net of unproven patent claims, or the already announced overhaul of the patent system?

By: Boycott Novell » Another Company Affiliated with Microsoft Sues Red Hat Using Software Patents

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 21:50:33 +0000

[...] asserted by Harald Welte, it’s about cost. Another person makes a similar suggestion, arguing that Microsoft wants to rationalise “Linux tax”. How can you compete with [...]