It is reported that Microsoft recently obtained patent for "Operating System Shutdown". In simpler words, Microsoft now holds the intellectual property rights for 'shutting down an operating system'.

For some time, we have not heard anything about the patent sellout which Novell inked with Microsoft 11 months ago. Microsoft has since used the deal as the basis for spreading FUD about Linux, with claims that the free operating system could be in violation of as many as 235 patents which Microsoft claims to own.

One of the enduring soap operas this year has involved the ongoing patent infringement threats by Microsoft against “Linux, OpenOffice, email, and other open source software.” According to Microsoft, 235 of its (unnamed) patents are being infringed, and it should be entitled to be paid for this use of its intellectual property.

In course of the last decade, every once in a while Microsoft has been known to have accused Linux of infringing one of its patents or another. Despite the said multiple claims for years that elements of the open-source operating system violate its patents, Microsoft had restricted itself till 2009 to supporting legal action against Linux.

The Linux community is splitting — right down the middle, at this point — over Microsoft Corp.’s controversial claimsthat the open-source operating system infringes on patents it holds.
Last Tuesday, Paris-based Mandriva became the third Linux vendor within five days to say it isn’t interested in signing a licensing deal with Microsoft to avoid possible infringement claims.

The Linux community is splitting -- right down the middle, at this point -- over Microsoft's controversial claims that the open source operating system infringes on patents it holds. On June 19, Paris-based Mandriva became the third Linux vendor within five days to say it isn't interested in signing a licensing deal with Microsoft to avoid possible infringement claims.

MICROSOFT'S "academic kickbacks" are no news to us. Microsoft pays hundreds of dollars to professors who secretly promote its products (and bullies those who don't). Microsoft was doing almost exactly the same thing to throw fire at the GNU GPL version 3. The company from Redmond routinely pays academia to promote its agenda and here is the very latest example which comes from the New York Times.

So, I understand this [quote from Microsoft's web site] to mean that Microsoft pays these researchers to think and study and figure out ways to innovate in search so Microsoft can beat Google and Yahoo. Microsoft, I would guess, gets rights to the IP in some fashion. No wonder it has spent a fair amount of effort trying to get the community to drop the GPL and adopt the BSD license instead.

Microsoft seems to suggest that Novell ought to know what it is that it's paying Microsoft for.