Is it legal to claim without prof ?

[MaximB]

I had a nice chat with Rowan today :

07:21:56 PM) Maxim: is it legal to claim without prof in U.K ?
(07:22:07 PM) Rowan: to do what?
(07:22:25 PM) Maxim: claim, like ms did, that we steal their code
(07:22:48 PM) Rowan: i'm not sure
(07:22:50 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:23:21 PM) Maxim: like if I claim that your mother is mine and you must pay me money for using her
(07:25:38 PM) Rowan: hahahaha
(07:25:40 PM) Rowan: its *******
(07:25:40 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:25:52 PM) Maxim: why ? prove me wrong !
(07:26:33 PM) Rowan: hahahaha
(07:26:35 PM) Maxim: can you prove it ? the source code (my sperm) is mine and mine alone, you can't take it or use it against me !
(07:26:42 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:26:49 PM) Maxim: but I can claim
(07:26:56 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:27:01 PM) Rowan: and it'll get turned down
(07:27:01 PM) Maxim: so where's my money ?
(07:27:04 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:27:21 PM) Maxim: ***** , I got to send this claim to bill
(07:27:55 PM) Maxim: I own your mother bill , now where's my money ?
(07:29:10 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:29:12 PM) Rowan: hahaha

--------------------------------------------------------------

The question is if it is legal to claim such things without giving any prof in the U.S , what can we do about it ? what should we do about it ?

I know that in Germany is is NOT legal and therefore in their German site they never claim such things.

But maybe our free people could sue M$ for giving us a bad name or something ?

---------------------------------------
The chat was censored due to great fear of infraction points ;)

[justin whitaker]

I had a nice chat with Rowan today :

07:21:56 PM) Maxim: is it legal to claim without prof in U.K ?
(07:22:07 PM) Rowan: to do what?
(07:22:25 PM) Maxim: claim, like ms did, that we steal their code
(07:22:48 PM) Rowan: i'm not sure
(07:22:50 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:23:21 PM) Maxim: like if I claim that your mother is mine and you must pay me money for using her
(07:25:38 PM) Rowan: hahahaha
(07:25:40 PM) Rowan: its *******
(07:25:40 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:25:52 PM) Maxim: why ? prove me wrong !
(07:26:33 PM) Rowan: hahahaha
(07:26:35 PM) Maxim: can you prove it ? the source code (my sperm) is mine and mine alone, you can't take it or use it against me !
(07:26:42 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:26:49 PM) Maxim: but I can claim
(07:26:56 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:27:01 PM) Rowan: and it'll get turned down
(07:27:01 PM) Maxim: so where's my money ?
(07:27:04 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:27:21 PM) Maxim: ***** , I got to send this claim to bill
(07:27:55 PM) Maxim: I own your mother bill , now where's my money ?
(07:29:10 PM) Rowan: lol
(07:29:12 PM) Rowan: hahaha

--------------------------------------------------------------

The question is if it is legal to claim such things without giving any prof in the U.S , what can we do about it ? what should we do about it ?

I know that in Germany is is NOT legal and therefore in their German site they never claim such things.

But maybe our free people could sue M$ for giving us a bad name or something ?

---------------------------------------
The chat was censored due to great fear of infraction points ;)

It's a legal tactic, and part of the FUD campaign.

Basically, in the US system, the proof comes out during the discovery phase of the trail, when you are forced to share documents.

If they think there is a claim there, they will start the proceedings, and go fishing. Chances are, they will amend the claim to cover the actual infraction on their patents or code, as opposed to the original claim they assert.

So no, they don't need to show proof...because they might not even have it, and they might try another tactic along the way.

[rowanparker]

I'm famous ;)

[ExpatPaul]

It's a legal tactic, and part of the FUD campaign.

Basically, in the US system, the proof comes out during the discovery phase of the trail, when you are forced to share documents.


This is what SCO tried to do to IBM over Linux... and look where they are now

[pjkoczan]

In general, claiming something without proof is of questionable legality. In the worst case it's libel, slander, or defamation of character, which are grounds for a civil lawsuit (not a criminal).

The main problem, at least in the US, is that "Defamation law in the United States is much less plaintiff-friendly than its counterparts in European and the Commonwealth countries, due to the enforcement of the First Amendment" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation, so I can claim this with some proof ;-)). The issue is that Linux (or the OSS community or whatever) would be the plaintiffs, and the burden of proof would presumably be on them to show that MS committed libel. Of course, since their code is proprietary, you have a nice chicken-and-egg problem unless a judge would order MS code to be reviewed or released.