According to legal services company Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), computer business Microsoft is costing Windows users $20 per operating system installation in order to counteract patent infringement claims.  SFLC is calling the computer business’ fee a patent tax.  This is based on the amount of money Microsoft spent settling its lawsuits over the past three years.  This extra money also includes computer business legal fees during the same time period.  The total amount is divided by the estimated number of Windows installations.

SFLC estimated that the public nature of legal settlements, which include $1.5 billion to Alcatel-Lucent, $1.25 billion to Sun, $536 million to Novel and $440 million to Interust have cost the computer business $4.3 billion in the past three years.  This means that each installation of Windows products during the same period cost $21.50 additionally.  

SFLC admits that the total amount the computer business has paid over the past three years could actually be higher, since some settlements were not disclosed to the public.  On the flip side, the amount could be less because the money the computer business paid to Sun covered antitrust and not patent infringement costs.  

Competitor Linux, according to SFLC has a patent tax equal to $0 because it has not been found guilty of any patent infringement, despite accusations.  The firm Open Source Risk Management stated in 2004 that Linux had 287 patented technologies that were in question.     

Computer business Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer claims that Linux has infringed upon intellectual property of Microsoft after finding out about an agreement made with Novell.  Computer business Microsoft and Novell agreed not to sue each other’s customers for patent infringement.  

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