TheOpenAnalyst

It’s a familiar story. Microsoft does a secret deal with a company over patent licences. Almost no details are provided about which patents, how much money has changed hands, or why, except for one vaguely worded press release that talks about how such secret deals benefit the customer through openness and innovation.

This time, the lucky donor of cash for secrets is Brother, which will now be allowed to use Microsoft patents to make printers. As Microsoft doesn’t make printers — indeed, doesn’t even make printer drivers — it is an interesting exercise to try and guess what’s actually happened. It’s fruitless to ask either of the companies — and we did try. In cases like this, as in the best gangster movies, nobody ain’t sayin’ nothin’.

Microsoft’s secret deals on open source | ZDNet.co.uk

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