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TomTom gets allies in Microsoft Linux patent lawsuit fight
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| When Microsoft first sued TomTom for patent violations in TomTom's
| Linux-powered navigation devices, I wasn't sure how much of a fight TomTom
| would put up. Legally TomTom was between a rock and a hard place. You can't
| use restricted-use patents in GPLed software. If Microsoft just wanted to use
| the lawsuit as a hostile takeover tactic, TomTom didn't have anything like
| Microsoft's financial resources to fight them with.
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http://blogs.computerworld.com/tomtom_gets_allies_in_microsoft_linux_patent_lawsuit_fight
Why TomTom is the new SCO (in the nicest possible way)
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| I don't think this materially affects the Microsoft lawsuit, since these OIN
| patents are not intended to be used for attack, more to remove possible
| obstacles. It simply emphasises the increasingly alignment of TomTom's
| interests with those of the wider GNU/Linux community, and represents a nice
| poke in the eye for Microsoft. But it does emphasise one thing: that the
| TomTom saga is fast becoming as rich, complex – and, let's admit it:
| entertaining – as the apparently unending and always improbable SCO suit,
| still rumbling on. Who said patent law was dull?
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http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?blogid=14&entryid=2018
Patent Commons: Uncommon but Patently Good
http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2009/03/patent-commons-uncommon-but-patently.html
Microsoft is finished. Another SCO... with $0 Windows, no money in the bank,
and pathetic market share where it really matters.
Recent:
Strike/Counterstrike: TomTom Sues Microsoft
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20090320053216203
European Patent Office: Patent Applications Slow As Rejections Rise
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| In a trend appearing in other patent offices around the world, patent
| applications at the European Patent Office continued to rise in 2008, but at
| a slower rate toward the end of year. At the EPO, this was coupled with the
| lowest percentage of granted patents in its history.
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http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/03/21/european-patent-office-patent-applications-slow-as-rejections-rise/
TomTom countersues Microsoft in patent dispute
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| TomTom has responded to Microsoft's patent suit by filing a patent claim of
| its own against the software maker.
|
| The GPS device maker, based in the Netherlands, filed the countersuit in the
| U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Thursday.
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http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10200526-75.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
TomTom Linux impact light hit so far
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| I don’t necessarily see the same effect from the TomTom suit since, at least
| publicly, Microsoft is not making the case that it is Linux on the line. I
| can report that there does not seem to be any slowdown or hesitation in the
| embrace of Linux for embedded devices. Perhaps that is the reason that
| Microsoft has chosen to play down any implications for Linux and open source,
| rather than puff them up as it has done in the past. If Microsoft or anyone
| else challenges the IP integrity of the Linux OS, it is likely to reinforce
| the idea that the open source software is legitimate, licensed, covered by
| copyright, and absolutely appropriate for enterprise, embedded and other
| commercial uses, at least that’s what history tells us.
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http://blogs.the451group.com/opensource/2009/03/12/tomtom-linux-impact-light-hit-so-far/
Experts: Microsoft's FAT licensing terms might violate GPL
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| Under the original FAT licensing program, pricing was US$0.25 per unit with a
| cap on total royalties of $250,000 per manufacturer, according to what had
| been posted on Microsoft’s website from 2003 to July 2006. A Microsoft
| spokesperson could not explain why they were removed or whether those terms
| were applicable to the 18 agreements outlined in the lawsuit.
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http://www.sdtimes.com/EXPERTS_MICROSOFT_S_FAT_LICENSING_TERMS_MIGHT_VIOLATE_GPL/About_MICROSOFT_and_OPENSOURCE_and_TOMTOM/33327
Microsoft sues TomTom over FAT patents
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| The underlying strategy is very obvious: Make those patent licenses high
| enough to reduce the cost advantage of a Linux based OS over Windows CE and
| thereby demotivate companies from using Linux in the embedded world.
|
| This has so far happened behind closed doors, but if you google you can find
| a couple of strange press releases of Asian companies buying into those MS
| patent deals for Linux.
|
| [...]
|
| I myself, as well as numerous other people in the Free and Open Source world
| are asking themselves how this legal action fits into the
| Microsoft-proclaimed Free Software friendly strategy. As you can see now,
| that was nothing but vapor.
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http://laforge.gnumonks.org/weblog/2009/02/27/#20090227-microsoft_patent_lawsuit
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