Legal worries spook 'limux'
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The saga of the City of Munich's highly publicised decision to abandon Microsoft and use open source software is dragging on.
The saga of the City of Munich's highly publicised decision to abandon Microsoft and use open source software is dragging on like an anti-trust case (see Information Age, July 2003).
When the city first decided to move its 14,000 desktops to Linux back in early 2003, it made international headlines, mainly because it might set a precedent for others to follow. But nearly 18 months on, long after it made its initial decision, the project has yet to start in earnest.
Although a vote gave the go-ahead in June, the transition nearly came grinding to a halt in early August due to worries that Linux uses ideas and technologies already patented by big IT vendors.
This is surprising, not only because software patents are not accepted in Europe, but because the city has already apparently ignored a campaign by Unix software supplier SCO to sue Linux users. SCO claims Linux uses chunks of its copyrighted code.
The new problem is the EU's proposed patent law, the Patentability Of Computer-Implemented Inventions directive, which would allow companies to charge for use of their patents. A recent study has suggested Linux could infringe as many as 283 patents, although none have been upheld in court.
Green Party Alderman Jens Muehlhaus, who insists he is a supporter of open source (and not a Microsoft stooge), has petitioned the council to investigate the potential repercussions if Linux is found to infringe patents owned by, among others, IBM and Microsoft. Unix vendor SCO has already tried to sue Linux users, claiming copyright infringement.
Mayor Christian Ude has responded, saying the new concerns will only delay the tendering process to find suppliers for 'Project LiMux' by two or three weeks.
The Mayor has tried to make the best of the renewed publicity by urging open source advocates to "strongly lobby with the EU and their national governments in order to [gain] more favourable legislation on patentability of software".
