Microsoft today initiated a new program that promises legal indemnification protections against intellectual property (IP) claims for organizations using Microsoft Azure services.
The program, called "Microsoft Azure IP Advantage", takes effect today for Azure users. However, they need to meet certain qualifications to get some of the program's protection benefits.
There are three basic elements to the program. First, Microsoft is promising to include IP protections for its patented technologies, as well as open source technologies, used in Azure. Next, Microsoft is promising to keep a pool of patents for legal defensive purposes. Organizations can pick one patent to use for countersuing purposes. Lastly, Microsoft is promising that if it transfers Azure-associated patents to "nonpracticing entities," then the arrangement will be such that the holding company can't assert IP claims against Azure customers. This latter arrangement is called a "springing license" arrangement in legal lingo.
One example of IP protections enabled by the program for open source software is the use of open source Hadoop technology, according to Microsoft's announcement. Hadoop is used in Microsoft's Azure HD Insight "Big Data" services, so the program affords indemnity protections for Azure HD Insight users.
Source: Microsoft Kicks Off Legal Indemnity Program for Azure Users
(Score: 3, Insightful) by JoeMerchant on Saturday March 18 2017, @05:30PM (3 children)
Our lawyers will help your lawyers fight their lawyers if you use our product.
At what point are we spending more in legal posturing than we do actually making and delivering the service?
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 18 2017, @05:42PM
> At what point are we spending more in legal posturing...
For better or worse, I believe that lawyers dictating business conduct started with product liability law, as personified by Ralph Nader in the 1960s. At first it made sense to protect victims of crass corporate behavior, but has ballooned far out of control by now.
Like many good ideas (ie, unions) some things go bad with age and size.
(Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Sunday March 19 2017, @04:52AM (1 child)
Just think of all that goes into typical EULAs. They try to convince us that we aren't allowed to reverse engineer their product, we can't even create something similar ourselves, we don't have any fair use rights, we can't sell it on the used market-- no first-sale doctrine, we have to ask their permission for some uses, we can't sue them, and they can change the terms any time they feel like it. Oh, and no returns, all sales are final. Some try to claim we aren't even allowed to criticize it, no bad product reviews. More recent is the move to change the agreement from a purchase based to a licensing based one, just in case the first-sale doctrine hasn't been beat up enough. And, we're not allowed to use the product for any illegal purpose. That last I feel is pure obedience conditioning, as otherwise what's the point of saying it?
The worst EULA I've seen was truly horrifying. It asserted the "right" to barge into your place of business (it seemed to assume buyers would have the authority to commit their employers to that, perhaps by virtue of being the boss) and inspect your computers to make sure you were complying with the agreement. And at their sole discretion, if they felt you weren't in compliance, they could immediately terminate the agreement and have you erase all copies of their software. I had visions of being in the middle of writing a document when suddenly my word processor was killed and erased, taking my work into bit bucket heaven with it. Another stunning condition was insistence that all programming you had ever done that might be related to their product was now their property and you were to turn over all copies to them immediately, as it could infringe on their rights, and we can't have that, oh no! Guess that means even work for hire products that you don't have any rights to yourself.
Most people just ignore all that bull. Wish people would push back harder, refuse to give them money for their products until they scrap not just the outrageous EULAs, but the whole concept.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday March 20 2017, @02:07AM
Like some non-compete agreements that are going around - most of these are immediately thrown out of court as unconscionable terms. They can play with severability and pick and claw for whatever they might get, but on the whole and absurd EULA isn't even worth the time you took to click on it to the "holder of the unconscionable rights."
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 18 2017, @05:48PM
Oh - Microsoft faggotry. Got it.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Saturday March 18 2017, @08:56PM
This is basically a protection racket. Oh well, they seem to get away with extortion where their "android patents" are involved, so why not.
(Score: 2) by pkrasimirov on Saturday March 18 2017, @10:07PM
Thank you, Fnord666, for making this a news article. I only gave the link.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 18 2017, @11:23PM
Leave it to Microsoft to drop the guise and just outright make a business model out of being mobsters. Oh wait, they already did that. This just sounds like them being slightly more blatant about it and flagrantly stating that they fear no repercussions. How much protection can I put you down for friend?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 19 2017, @02:59AM
Does it run UnixWare?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 19 2017, @10:20AM
Notice a pattern how it always includes lawyers?