Sleeping With The Troll

Sadly, it doesn’t feature a tiny, grotesque version of Julia Roberts which lives under a bridge. No, this is the Open Invention Network.

Protective Penguin

(Hah! It’s in Flash!)

Bergelt does not take issue with Microsoft’s rights to assert and sell its intellectual property but he did question why the software giant blocked OIN from the bidding.

Was it an overight? Or an attempt by Microsoft to circulate potentially dangerous IP bombs into the patent troll community?

Or was it … Something Else? (Cue Psycho music.)

But this is a win-win for Linux. It demonstrates that Microsoft has not been able to cook up an uber mega legal case against Linux (maybe?) if it is selling Linux related patents to smaller entities.

And the more Linux related patents Microsoft sells, the fewer it owns.

This reminds me of my great-grandfather. I only met him once, and he was deep into senile dementia at the time. As the older child, I had the privilege of sitting next to him at dinner, while he told me his favourite joke:

Question: Why is a mouse when it spins?
Answer: Because the higher, the fewer!

And then he repeated the joke, every ninety-five seconds, for the rest of the meal. Which is why I remember it. I think it has something to do with steam engines.

Anyway…

This be true FUD, you believe me, my brothers and sisters.

Microsoft didn’t sell to patent trolls, except how did it know that? And it might possibly sell to patent trolls in the future, except that this is the only case where we’ve got the slightest suspicion that it does. And it should have sold to a random Linux organisation in the first place. No it shouldn’t! It should have given the patents away for free! Without conditions! Which we, as the OIN, are now going to apply to anybody who uses them.

You can trust us not to sell the patents on to trolls, because the Magic Pixie will tell us who is, and who is not, a troll.

Or … (Cue Psycho music again)

Edit: added picture