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You can only rattle a saber for so long before it turns into a thin, hollow tinkle. Microsoft's [latest round of Linux patent PR FUD][4] has been met with some scathing retorts from the Linux community, perhaps best summarized as a simple call to put up or shut up.
Linus Torvalds weighed in on the issue in an [interview with Information Weekly][1] about Microsoft's claim saying, "Don't you think that if Microsoft actually had some really foolproof patent, they'd just tell us and go, 'nyaah, nyaah, nyaah!'"
Linus goes on to say that "It's certainly a lot more likely that Microsoft violates patents than Linux does." He claims that if the source code for Windows received the same critical review that Linux has, Microsoft would likely find itself in violation of patents as well.
Torvalds isn't the only one with some sharp words for Microsoft. Jonathan Schwartz, CEO and President of Sun Microsystems, [writes on his blog][2] that Microsoft ought to try innovating rather than litigating and would be wise to avoid suing its customers.
>no amount of fear can stop the rise of free media, or free software (they are the same, after all). The community is vastly more innovative and powerful than a single company. And you will never turn back the clock on elementary school students and developing economies and aid agencies and fledgling universities - or the Fortune 500 - that have found value in the wisdom of the open source community. Open standards and open source software are literally changing the face of the planet - creating opportunity wherever the network can reach.
>That's not a genie any litigator I know can put back in a bottle.
Tim O'Reilly, publisher and open source advocate, writes that Microsoft's latest FUD blitz smacks of McCarthyism. In a recent post on [O'Reilly Radar][3] he writes, "does Microsoft's claim that Free and Open Source Software infringes on 235 Microsoft patents remind anyone of Joseph McCarthy's famous claim about communists at the State Department?"
O'Reilly goes on to say that "Frankly, this flawed PR ploy smacks of desperation to me."
It would certainly seem that the Linux patent threat no longer worries most in the open source community (also be sure to check out the [great video Michael posted yesterday][5]) and if anything Microsoft's latest move has merely [rallied the forces aligned against it][6].
[1]: http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199600443 "Linus Torvalds Responds To Microsoft Patent Claims"
[2]: http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/entry/what_we_did "Free Advice for the Litigious..."
[3]: http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/05/i_have_in_my_ha.html "I have in my hand a list of 206 known communists at the State Department"
[4]: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/05/microsoft_rehas.html "Microsoft Rehashes Linux Patent FUD"
[5]: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/05/the_be_very_afr.html "The 'Be Very Afraid' Tour: Microsoft's Patent Strategy Explained"
[6]: http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/05/opensource_pate.html "Open-Source Patent-Holders Ready to Fight Fire With Fire"
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