Q&A: Microsoft won't sue over Linux, for now

IDG News Service - Microsoft ignited hostility following its assertion in Fortune magazine on Monday that Linux and other open-source software infringe on 235 of the company's patents. The software giant, which signed a controversial patent cross-licensing deal with Novell Inc. last November, is encouraging other companies to reach licensing agreements to resolve intellectual property claims. But the new information has made users and others nervous about whether they could eventually be targeted by lawsuits from Microsoft.

In an exclusive interview, Bill Hilf, general manager of platform strategy and director of Microsoft's work with open-source projects, spoke with the IDG News Service on the effects of the declaration on the open-source community. Before joining Microsoft, Hilf was in charge of IBM Corp.'s Linux and open-source technical strategy and spent the last 12 years working with open-source software. What follows is an edited transcript of the interview.

The Fortune story has caused a lot of concern over how Microsoft may proceed in regard to its patent claims. Did you know Microsoft officials were going to reveal the number of patents? We did. [But] the Fortune article does not correctly represent our strategy. That's what has people so inflamed. It looks like our strategy changed and we are moving in a new direction, but it hasn't. In the Novell deal, we said we had to figure out a way to solve these IP issues and we needed to figure out a way for better interoperability with open-source products. The Fortune article makes it look like we are going out on this litigation path.

Our strategy from everyone in the company -- from [Steve] Ballmer to Brad Smith to me and everyone in between -- has always been to license and not litigate as it relates to our intellectual property. So we have no plans to litigate. You can never say we'll never do anything in the future, but that's not our strategy. That article spins it on the attack. The only new piece information in that article is that it just put a number on the patents.

What was the aftermath after the story ran? The people in the open-source community that I know well ... they contacted me right away. All of the European guys I know called me at 2 a.m. I told them what I told you. They said "OK, that's what I needed to hear." The other question I got was, to be very honest, "Do you have a different strategy than the company?" which I didn't understand at first. I said again, "Don't look at Fortune magazine as the manifestation of the Microsoft strategy." It's the same strategy we've had. I think [the effects of the story] will be short term as people realize that it looks like Microsoft is on the attack. I think longer term it will be fine and the work will continue on.

Reprinted with permission from

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