My feeling is that Microsoft is trying to spread FUD and scare large firms
that are considering FOSS. Companies are going to be dissuaded from using
FOSS if there is a risk that they may have to pay unknown “future
royalties” because the software they’re using violates a Microsoft patent.

I wonder if this will all just mysteriously blow over in a few months,
without Microsoft ever having released the details of the patents
supposedly violated. By which time, of course, enough FUD will be spread in
the market, particularly amongst those who don’t fully understand FOSS,
that Microsoft will have achieved exactly what they wanted to with their
disinformation campaign.

For some reason, I thought it bore reprinting here. Yes, I do love a good conspiracy theory.