[gull] Brevets logiciels, Microsoft, FSF (was: Re: GPL V3 -> SSPL)

[Marc SCHAEFER]

On Thu, Oct 18, 2018 at 04:52:58PM +0200, Marc SCHAEFER wrote:
> PS: et on n'a pas parlé de brevets logiciels, ou de droits
> annexes, qui s'ajoutent au copyright dans les limitations
> de ce que peut faire un développeur. Désolé!

Nous avons mentionné ici les brevets logiciels, ainsi que le rôle
nouveau de Microsoft dans le monde du libre depuis quelques temps.

Le problème des brevets est réel, et voici ce que la FSFE écrit dans
sa newsletter[1]. En résumé: après avoir utilisé les brevets pour
mettre des bâtons dans les roues de ses concurrents, y compris en
logiciel libre, Microsoft a maintenant rejoint deux organisations
de lutte contre les abus des brevets, dont une organisation du monde
GNU/Linux qui tente de résoudre les problèmes et lutte contre les
brevets logiciels et la FSF(E) lui demandent d'être cohérent
jusqu'au bout.

 == Microsoft joins the Open Invention Network ==

Historically, Microsoft has used software patents to slow down Free
Software adoption in businesses and public administration, by claiming
patent infringement of important Free Software components and taking
billions of dollars from Free Software re-distributors. In recent years,
however, Microsoft approached themselves more and more with the Free
Software community. In October, this led to Microsoft's next big step to
join the LOT Network and the Open Invention Network (OIN), two
organisations that aim to solve problems created by software patents
towards the GNU/Linux systems.

LOT works to protect members against so called "non-practicing
entities", while the OIN wants to protect a defined set of Free Software
technologies from patent litigation, defined in their so-called "Linux
system definition" [1].

The FSFE welcomes Microsoft's steps, and encourages them to continue in
this direction [2]. The FSFE aligns with our sister organisation, the
Free Software Foundation (FSF) in their demand [3] that useful next
steps should make a clear, unambiguous statement that Microsoft has
ceased all patent infringement claims on the use of Linux in Android: to
expand the list of packages protected from patents inside the definition
of "Linux System", to include every Free Software component found in a
GNU/Linux system, and to use the past patent royalties, extorted from
Free Software, to fund the effective abolition of all patents covering
ideas in software.

[1] https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201810.fr.html