# Please help me see what MS is griping about here

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-see-what-ms-is-griping-about-here/276202>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 23, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-see-what-ms-is-griping-about-here/276202 "2004-11-23T00:58:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-see-what-ms-is-griping-about-here/276202/1 "2004-11-23T00:58:06Z")

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[http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/biztech/11/19/tech.microsoft.linux3.reut/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/biztech/11/19/tech.microsoft.linux3.reut/index.html)

According to this article, Microsoft is threatening to sue because certain asian governments want to change over to Linux.

My question is: Linux has been around for 20 years now. Why the sudden concern about copyrights?

And even if so, exactly where does Microsoft have any dog in this fight? Linux is not derived from Windows.

And finally, Is there a treaty somewhere that says these governments are obliged to us Windows rather then Linux?

Am I missing something obvious or is this a Blantent case of MS trying to sue Linux out of existance?

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**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-see-what-ms-is-griping-about-here/276202/2 "2004-11-23T01:15:01Z")

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The article doesn’t say MS is threatening to sue. It says that Microsoft “warned Asian governments on Thursday they could face patent lawsuits for using the Linux operating system instead of its Windows software.” This belief by MS is predicated on their assertion that “Linux violates more than 228 patents, according to a recent report from a research group, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said at the company’s Asian Government Leaders Forum in Singapore.”

MS’s dog in this fight is that they have a market (and presumably, patents) to protect, and if they can use mob-style scare tactics to protect it, they will.

“It’d be a shame if your store burned down one night, sir. Perhaps you should pay us to protect it.”

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**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\
**Post date:** [November 23, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-see-what-ms-is-griping-about-here/276202/3 "2004-11-23T01:37:02Z")

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> [@HPL](#):
>
> My question is: Linux has been around for 20 years now. Why the sudden concern about copyrights?

Various flavours of Linux being offered quasi-commercially is a relatively recent development.

> [@](#):
>
> And even if so, exactly where does Microsoft have any dog in this fight? Linux is not derived from Windows.

Microsoft has made vague rumbling sounds that some Open Source projects ([like this one](http://www.openoffice.org/)) violate MS’s IP rights. So they are making threatening “Don’t even _think_ about it!” gestures.

> [@](#):
>
> Am I missing something obvious or is this a blatant case of MS trying to sue Linux out of existence?

No, you’re not really missing much, although it’s really more about intimidation than litigation.

SCO’s litigation would never have come this far without a lot of help from Redmond, as it is.