Alec Graham wrote: > Hi > > I have only recently started using Openoffice, but lately I have seen a = > lot of websites talking about a legal action between Sun and Microsoft, = > and an agreement that Microsoft reserves the right to sue openoffice = > users. > > Does this mean Openoffice infringes Microsoft copyrights - and is = > therefore illegal?
No. OpenOffice is not infringing on MS copyrights. It is the same base as Sun's StarOffice. Since MS has often generated such nonsense in the past, to scare people away from competing products, I'd suggest you verify the sources of that "talk". One thing to bear in mind, is that MS has been convicted of criminal offenses, relating to the illegal methods they've used to force market share. There's no reason to think that what you've heard hasn't been planted by them. The Linux and OS/2 communities (among others) have seen it all before. In fact, there's much speculation and some evidence that MS is behind the SCO vs "Linux" lawsuits. Go to groklaw.net for a huge pile of nonsense where someone uses such tactics against a competitor. Of particular interest is MS's funding of SCO, to attack Linux. Other interesting reading includes books such as "Netscape Time", "World War 3.0" and others. If you have trouble sleeping some night, you may also consider reading the MS trial transcripts from the late 90's. Bottom line, MS stops at nothing to harm competition. Their activities have even included extortion. The further you move from MS software, the better. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
