451 CAOS Theory 
A blog for the enterprise open source community
Microsoft realigning closer to open source
Jay Lyman, May 19, 2009 @ 8:02 pm ETMicrosoft is involved in open source software again, most recently continuing its realignment on open source by taking a position on software licenses with the Linux Foundation of all places, and by getting its own CodePlex code included in Black Duck Software’s knowledgebase of open source.
With self-described ’strange bedfellow’ Linux Foundation, Microsoft lobbied the industry and, more precisely, the American Law Institute regarding ALI’s ‘Principles of the Law of Software Contracts,’ calling them a threat to the health and growth of the software industry, which includes open source software, even by Microsoft’s definition now.
I think this is an interesting continuation of the change we saw most dramatically during the Microsoft-TomTom patent lawsuit. Many were critical of my belief that we were dealing with a very different Microsoft, simply based on the fact that the software giant was going out of its way to say Linux and open source were not targets of its lawsuits. Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel Horacio Guiterrez, who figures prominently in the co-opted position with the Linux Foundation, and his company went even further when the TomTom suits were initiated, stating:
Microsoft respects and appreciates the important role that open source software plays in the industry, and Microsoft respects and appreciates the passion and the great contribution that open source developers make in the industry. This appreciation and respect is not inconsistent with Microsoft’s respect for intellectual property rights.
I was struck at the contrast to Microsoft’s other, past dealings with open source software, like the Novell partnership and the inferences that it was an admission of IP infringement in Linux, or the infamous 235 patents supposedly infringed by Linux and other open source software. We haven’t heard anything like that from Microsoft in quite some time, and I believe the latest positioning alongside Linux Foundation further reinforces the idea that Microsoft genuinely respects the IP of Linux and open source software and is also unlikely to pursue a legal strategy that would indicate otherwise.
Moving Microsoft even closer to open source software in terms of actual code, we got news this week that Microsoft’s own open source project destination, CodePlex, would be added to the KnowledgeBase and Koders.com search engine from code scanning and management vendor Black Duck Software. This follows on Microsoft’s work in 2007 to obtain OSI approval for its own open source licenses.
While the deeper involvement from Microsoft may rightfully cause concern from developers and other Linux and open source software supporters unsure what this involvement will really mean, I think the signs continue to point to a changed Microsoft. This does not mean there should be any letting down of the guard to counter FUD, legal and market maneuvering that would be detrimental to Linux and open source from Microsoft or anyone else. It does mean that when open source software vendors, projects, developers and others are dealing with Microsoft, however, they should allow the company’s recent behaviors and positions to play into their perspective on this longtime foe turned sometimes friend.
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I hope you are right but I don’t agree with your reasoning.
You can read my full take on Microsoft’s open source strategy here - http://jamesdixon.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/microsofts-open-source-strategy-i-think
Microsoft and the Linux Foundation are aligned against a common enemy in the ALI, it does not change anything between Microsoft and Linux or open source.
Microsoft learned 10 years ago that it is counter-productive to market against open source. You are correct that Microsoft is not targeting open source, instead they are targeting the users of open source (like TomTom). They can’t scare open source (code) into paying Microsoft, but they can scare users into doing that.
Microsoft’s ideal situation if for us to either pay to use their software, or pay to use a licensed open source product that pays royalties to Microsoft. The Novell deal is a good example of the latter, and now TomTom.
You say that Microsoft has not made any IP accusations for ‘quite some time’. The TomTom suit only started 4 months ago and ended in March. That is a very short time in legal circles. I think it is very premature to say that Microsoft has abandoned a strategy they spent 10 years building up.
As far as I am aware Codeplex does not contain any Microsoft code - ‘CodePlex is hosted by Microsoft. Microsoft does not control, review, revise, endorse or distribute the third party projects on this site.’
What’s worse Microsoft’s ’shared source’ is for reference only. If you happen to copy any code fragments from it you could be facing a legal battle - ‘You are warned that when you build a run-time image based on an OS design that contains shared source code, your run-time image might contain private code that cannot be released in a product under the terms of the Microsoft EULA’
Microsoft is certainly changing. A few years ago they did not have a discernible open source strategy (but I think they were working on it for years). Since then they have made their strategy known and they started to execute on it (Novell, TomTom). I see no evidence lately that they have given up that strategy.
James
Thanks for weighing in James,
I think the acceptance that Microsoft has changed combined with the persisting, healthy suspicion the company is actually trying to hurt open source in the end shows a couple of things. First, Microsoft is indeed a very large company itself, and this means not only mixed messages, but mixed strategies as well. Second, I think the real change is that Microsoft is now contributing to the legitimacy of open source software by forging long-term deals and projects (Novell AND Red Hat and many others). At the same time, it is true that Microsoft is continuing an aggressive patent and IP-licensing business that does at times involve Linux and open source. However, I think Microsoft’s licensing strategy is more about leveraging its IP wherever it can. If it can do so while avoiding attacks on open source software projects and vendors, I believe it will.
JL
(I’ve posted this same response at your blog, as well).
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I’m going to disagree with James, at least somewhat. I do see evidence of change at Microsoft, or at least within certain divisions therein. To put a more poetic spin on it:
“Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes.” Walt Whitman, Song of Myself
Walt Whitman aside, I see two additional areas of tangible open source traction at Microsoft:
1. The use of Open Pegasus (http://www.openpegasus.org/) within Microsoft System Center.
2. The upcoming greatly expanded Cross Platform (X-Plat) extensions to Microsoft SCOM to allow native OS monitoring for a small, but critical, set of Linuxes, namely RHEL and SLES.
David
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