The Microsoft patent emperor with nothing on but a Speedo
Microsoft is truly starting to look like a complete patent buffoon...or is it bully? Either way, this emperor is not wearing any clothes.
You've already seen it on Slashdot. ZDNet also has a great write-up. But for the real meat go to the source, Tom Kemp's blog.
About what? Well, just the contention that
...[o]f the 125 protocols posted on MSDN for Windows Server, 99 of the 125 protocols have no US patents associated with them, meaning 80 percent of the Windows server protocols do not have US patents associated with them.
Jason Perlow rightly asks if Samba got anything real from its patent deal with Microsoft. But perhaps we should stretch this further:
If, in fact, 80 percent of Microsoft's Windows Server code is not patented, where does it get off pointing the finger at Linux? Or do all 235 of its unsubstantiated patent claims relate to the 20 percent of Windows that is actually patented? It's possible, of course, but Microsoft's patent emperor keeps getting more and more naked, and it's not a pretty sight.