Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday announced a cross-licensing deal with Korean consumer electronics maker LG Electronics Inc. It is the fifth such deal in recent months that involves Redmond’s controversial granting of Linux patent ‘protection’ -- in this case, to LG-made cell phones and other devices. Microsoft will pay LG an undisclosed amount of money for patents related to operating systems and computer systems, it said in a press release, while LG will make ongoing payments to Microsoft "for the value of Microsoft patents as they relate to Linux-based embedded devices that LGE produces."
"This agreement is another example of how Microsoft is continuing to build bridges with others in the industry through intellectual property licensing," said Horacio Gutierrez, vice president, Intellectual Property and Licensing at Microsoft, in the statement. "We believe in the importance of respecting the IP rights of others and that patent collaboration and protection is a best business practice the whole industry should be engaged in," said Jeong Hwan Lee, executive vice president of the Intellectual Property Center at LGE, in the same statement.
View: The full story
News source: ComputerWorld
"This agreement is another example of how Microsoft is continuing to build bridges with others in the industry through intellectual property licensing," said Horacio Gutierrez, vice president, Intellectual Property and Licensing at Microsoft, in the statement. "We believe in the importance of respecting the IP rights of others and that patent collaboration and protection is a best business practice the whole industry should be engaged in," said Jeong Hwan Lee, executive vice president of the Intellectual Property Center at LGE, in the same statement.
















what would make me laugh my ass off is if: MS hasnt said what patents are used, so maybe there are none and they are just saying there are to get money for free, it is a good plan after all, they have made lots from it
why pay programmers when they can work at mcdonalds
I believe in giving companies the rights to their ideas but there needs to some better mediating of the whole process.
This also reminds me of a few years ago when microsoft was going on about how linux cost so much and how much it sucked to use.. So it seems like microsoft knows that linux is alot more then what it seems to be.
Microsoft, on one hand, tries to show that its full of nice guys and people who aren't evil and out to get Linux, but then they wheel out jerks like this guy:
Just crawl off under a rock and die. Microsoft can't touch Linux with patents and it knows it.. otherwise it would have stopped beating its chest long ago and just gone on with litigation.
I hate you Microsoft.
lol no. They probably decided it would much cheaper to pay MS's extortion than to fight it out in court.
True...
And i dont think windows will lose it market share below 70% at max!!...& upcoming versions of there softwares & OS are really record breaking & good.. (alike windows server 200
reference: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/291...ftnovell08.html
Microsoft pays Novell $442 million
Novell pays Microsoft $40 million for 5 years ($200 million total)
True...
And i dont think windows will lose it market share below 70% at max!!...& upcoming versions of there softwares & OS are really record breaking & good.. (alike windows server 200
i pray you are being sarcastic, VISTA sux dude, and every IT pro adn developer i know that has actually played with it says exactly the same. have you tried writing code for it, or even usign it before saying ths, or are you just and end user that really only surfs the web so vista will appear cool to you because you don't actually use most of the features
reference: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/291...ftnovell08.html
Microsoft pays Novell $442 million
Novell pays Microsoft $40 million for 5 years ($200 million total)
But yeah, I do agree Novell seemed to get the better deal in this case.
True...
And i dont think windows will lose it market share below 70% at max!!...& upcoming versions of there softwares & OS are really record breaking & good.. (alike windows server 200
i pray you are being sarcastic, VISTA sux dude, and every IT pro adn developer i know that has actually played with it says exactly the same. have you tried writing code for it, or even usign it before saying ths, or are you just and end user that really only surfs the web so vista will appear cool to you because you don't actually use most of the features
OOPS!!...is really Vista sux?....i am a IT pro & our company is migrating lot of technologies into Vista & its WPF (for rich end user apps)....
I heard people saying XP is a **** when it was released...now you say vista is a ****...wait & see.
Hey now, I happen to be a "IT pro adn developer" and I wouldn't say that "VISTA sux dude". In fact, I think Vista is quite rockin! Just to be clear, I not only use Vista on a daily basis on my main machine, but I am also quite confident in recommending it to most customers, particularly in the consumer sector. I also "write code" for it, albeit in .NET, which rocks immensely! There has been no difference in me writing code for Vista vs. XP. Windows Server 2008 is already shaping up to be a really awesome platform too, and I look forward to deploying it. So I guess my questions to you are these: Have YOU tried writing code for Vista? What do you even mean by "writing code"? Have you even used Vista?
Also, I think software patents should be reviewed. Patents in general can be too ambiguous and the companies that hoard patents for years in the hopes of becoming rich from infringement lawsuits are just pathetic.
So trust me at least i know and understand that vista well be for sure alot better whenever they release sp1 for vista..
"Linux" is defined as the core of the operating system bearing its' name -- I've yet to see or hear about anything in the core that is an intellectual property or patent of Microsoft. The developers of the Linux kernel would certainly know for sure, and I'll venture a guess that they've looked it over again to err on the side of caution. I'll further venture a guess that anything suspect would be immediately reworked. And it's a good bet that anytime Mr.Torvalds reads about some corporate lackey saying that "Linux does this" or "Linux violates that" that he's immediately presenting them with the third digit of any appendage he chooses (and I will join in the chorus of middle appendages with him).
As mentioned earlier and elsewhere, if there is a larger violator of IP and patent than Microsoft, I've yet to hear about it. IBM did the initial work on N-Ten, and Microsoft essentially stole it. Period.
Xerox did the initial studies with interfaces and a lot of the things that are used in Microsoft products were also essentially stolen and claimed as original work.
If the problem then lies with GNU and Open-Source Software, it is the responsibility of the accuser (Microsoft) to cite specific and clear instances for each item of issue, not simply say that "Linux as a whole" violates x number of their properties and/or patents. Those developers who are "targeted" must be informed of whatever patent or IP their software violates. I've not heard of ONE single application (such as Amarok or Synaptic) whose developers have been contacted regarding this issue.
Microsoft needs to get the facts straight, as do its' lackeys whose job seems to be nothing more than to spread FUD and smear a superior product mindlessly.
If companies don't want to patent their work - or want to sell it for pennies.. Thats their problem and not Microsofts.
It's good business sense for Microsoft to sell the IP - and I'm assuming they must have some sort of rights as LGE is just one of many big companies to sign simalar deals.
Dates please..
Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!
Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.