Screaming Penguin - Source Does Matter

So we have all heard the FUD from MS about Linux and open source violating ~220 "patents" they hold. Curiously (actually not) MS did not indicate any specific infringements, just the blanket "hey you guys are stealing from us!".

As many have pointed out, specific violations would be great to see, then if any such violation is actually valid (which a few, nowhere near 200 plus, are likely to be based on how stupid the US patent office is and how broad and nebulous software patents have become) any respectable open source project would be happy to code around it (re implement that portion).

And Microsoft has played this card before - without much success.

The first thing I thought when I saw the recent rift was "oh yeah, what about the other way around?" Though arguably open source projects are generally going to be less patent oriented, some do exist, and at the very least a lot of prior art exists that would bust the so called patents. Ars has a story that puts Linus on that same page. I think if the tally was actually put to the test we might find a lot of violations of patents (or prior art without patents) *by* MS using open source software or open source concepts within their patented software.

So is is there actually any fire near this smoke, this time? I don't think so, just another example of fairly petty FUD from MS.