Microsoft's new policy for licensing its patents has supporters of open-source software worried that the company will use a broken government system for protecting intellectual property to beat back gains Linux and other competing software have made in the marketplace.
The Redmond, Wash., software maker, which holds roughly 4,500 patents covering a broad spectrum of technology affecting desktops, servers, and more, said in December that it would begin licensing patents to meet requests from customers, partners, and regulators.
Microsoft has more than 100 discussions underway for patent licensing, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the concerns of the open-source community on Friday. The software maker is offering royalty-bearing licenses to any interested party, including makers of open-source products.
A Microsoft spokesman said in a statement released Friday that the company's intellectual-property policy was to encourage the "broader availability and use of technology developed from our nearly $7 billion annual commitment to R&D."
"This policy is well within industry norms set by companies like IBM, AT&T (Bell Labs), and others who have been licensing for nearly 50 years," the statement said.
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