__/ [ Doug Mentohl ] on Saturday 09 June 2007 14:40 \__
> "If a guy walks into a shop and says: "It's an unsafe neighbourhood, why
> don't you pay me 20 bucks and I'll make sure you?re okay," that's
> illegal. It's racketeering. What Microsoft is doing with intellectual
> property is exactly the same"
>
> http://mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=6672
More on this (from another thread):
Linux: What do you get if you add Microsoft and Novell?
,----[ Quote ]
| What does the wikipedia say about protection rackets?
| I'll add my comments in brackets {..}. These may or may not be
| accurate:
|
| "A protection racket is an extortion scheme whereby a powerful
| organization {Microsoft?}, most often a criminal organization or gang,
| coerces individuals {you} or businesses {you} to pay protection money{
| SUSE subscription fee} which allegedly serves to purchase the
| organization's "protection" services {"patent peace of mind",
| S. Ballmer*} against various external threats {patent lawyers}.
| Those who do not buy into the protection plan {Novell subscription}
| are often targeted by criminals existing outside of the organization
| {Microsoft lawyers}. These crimes are typically thought to originate
| from the organization itself. When a business refuses to pay for
| protection, word is put out that they are outside of the local
| organisation's protection (these organisations often exist in the
| absence of a trusted police force) and that the business in question
| is therefore free game for freelance criminals {IP law firms} or
| the organization itself.
|
| The protection money is typically collected by a "Bag Man"
| {Novell*}. Although the organization might be particularly
| coercive in obtaining protection money, it is usually careful
| to shelter {with IP protected protocols/services} its "mark"
| from attacks by competitor organizations {SCO?} that similarly
| attempt to solicit or threaten the targeted individuals or
| businesses. Disputes between organizations concerning "turf" or
| territory {market share} consequently arise from two competing
| predators attempting to extort from the same "clients." {linux users} "
`----
http://www.encke.net/Article11.html
Court: Microsoft, Best Buy must stand trial for racketeering
,----[ Quote ]
| That was all done without his knowledge or agreement, he
| says.
|
| A similar incident happened to the buyer of a cell phone at a
| Reno Best Buy store, the case says. Microsoft withdrew monthly
| MSN payments from her debit card account for 17 months without
| her knowledge or permission, the allegations say.
`----
http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=5059
Many more articles describe the tactic in this way.
--
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