Open-source violates 235 patents: Microsoft

Daisuke Wakabayashi and Jim Finkle

NEW YORK: Microsoft Corp. made its broadest challenge to date against open-source software, including Windows rival Linux, claiming that such programs violate 235 Microsoft patents and saying it will seek license fees.

The world's largest software maker said that various open-source packages violate patents it holds in areas related to graphical user interface, e-mail programs and other technology.

"The real question is not whether there exist substantial patent infringement issues, but what to do about them," said Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft vice president of intellectual property and licensing in a statement.

Microsoft sent the statement to reporters on Monday via e-mail, detailing a stance that it disclosed in an article that appeared in Fortune Magazine.

Linux is the most popular type of open-source software, or computer programs that developers can download and modify as long as they share those changes with the public. The packages, which are often available for free, have gained in popularity over the past decade, taking market share away from Microsoft.

While dozens of versions of the Linux operating system are available for free download, Red Hat Inc. and Novell Inc. develop and sell versions of Linux used to run servers and mainframe computers in corporate data centers.

Last year Microsoft signed a marketing, technology and patent agreement with Novell, saying it wants to enter into similar pacts with other open-source software companies.

That agreement, which includes a clause that Microsoft will not sue Novell's Linux customers, incensed the community of open-source software developers, because they said Microsoft would use it to back claims that its intellectual property is being violated by code in Linux and other open source software.

Eben Moglen, founding director of the Software Freedom Law Center, called on Microsoft to disclose the patent numbers of the 235 patents it believes are being infringed upon so that the free software community can evaluate its claims.

"They should name their patents," Moglen said. "They should put up or shut up."

The Software Freedom Law Center is a nonprofit legal services organization that provides free legal aid to developers of open-source software.

Officials with Red Hat couldn't be reached for comment.

A Novell spokesman issued a statement saying that his company does not "agree or admit" that Linux violates Microsoft patents, but that the agreement between the two companies "takes the patent issue off the table for those customers who are concerned about it."

In its statement on the issue, Microsoft played up its partnership with Novell, saying that customers worried about intellectual property claims should buy their Linux software from Novell.

Red Hat shares fell 35 cents to $22.14 in afternoon Nasdaq trade. Novell shares rose 11 cents to $7.65 on the New York Stock Exchange and Microsoft shares rose 18 cents at $31.05 on the Nasdaq.