[OS:N:] IP indemnification

[Jay Scherrer <jay scherrer com>]

Lists,

Just coming from an eye opening discussion at GSLUG covering the still
threatening legal issues concerning Open source software and Linux. I
got what I call a "Bulletin".
 
I had just gotten home and checked my US mail. Microsoft had sent me a
copy of their indemnification policy. Probably other persons on this
list have received one also. My question as a struggling open software
consultant, how do we counteract with this type of negative
advertisement against Open source software. 

Below are snippets of the enclosed letter titled: Insufficient
intellectual property rights could be putting your company at risk. 
   
As you may be aware, end-user customers can be sued for their
"unauthorized" use of intellectual property (IP) rights contained in
software and operating systems products.

Then the letter goes on to discus Open Source Software:

"Discuss this issue with your IT staff to see if your company has
deployed "Open Source" software. Open Source software vendors provide
no , or very limited , IP indemnification. Deploying open source
software that your organization downloads or copies free of charge
typically means your organization receives no indemnification at all."

The letter then points to a links at www.getthefacts.com/report and
www.getthefacts.com/protect

Included with this is a brief document explaining Microsoft's commitment
to the end user.



Jay Scherrer