Interview with Carlo Piana

This late theory was very effectively discredited by Tridgell, who explained how one should not need to replicate (carbon copy) the very algorithm used, but only the specifications of the algorithm must be communicated, so that a compatible algorithm could be developed by the drop-in manufacturer.

In that case Tridgell was invaluable because one could tell how the judges believed him. And of course he was saying the truth, which sometimes helps in court. Finally, as this was a relatively new addition to the case, it was something utterly unprepared, that adds very much to how good our guys have been.

Can you describe your free software team cooperation with the EU?

Cooperation was the key to success on our side. I mean not only cooperation between us, to start with FSFE and Samba, but also with the interveners and with the Commission. It was half a miracle, given the various constraint we were to face. Including, for the Free Software part, a lack of proper funding, which meant a partly pro bono lawyer was all we could afford, I mean, my humble self.

Who are the people from free software community in this process and what was their role?

I have already mentioned Tridgell, whom many of the readers should know already. He is the founder and the leading developer of Samba. But also from the Samba team, two more people deserve high praises. The first is Jeremy Allison. Jeremy had a very important role first in the administrative proceedings, convincing the Commission to pass the Decision. Then in the interim case he also appeared in court ad made a big show. Unfortunately, after the interim, he was recruited by Novell which, shortly thereafter, entered into a settlement with Microsoft and pulled off the case. The settlement also prohibited any employees of Novell to cooperate with the case (and especially with us), which shows how negative to justice this sort of agreement could be. Nonetheless, as an Italian saying goes, not all bad things come to harm. We had the opportunity to bring Tridgell into the case, and I can hardly say who is more effective.

A special mention must me made for Volker Lendecke. He is a German top developer of Samba, and works for a company named Ser-Net of which he is also a major stakeholder. He had a decisive role behind the scenes and helped me very much with the technical stuff, and even appeared in the private hearing at the Commission when the fines for the incompleteness of the information were to be decided against Microsoft.

Finally, the people from the legal team of the FSFE, who have reviewed much of the written pleadings and have been supportive all along. And how to forget about the President, Georg Greve, who was always there in court and had a role also in the preparation of the hearing.

A journalist from the New York Times called us "a motley crew", and indeed if you saw how our company was formed, the impression was not of the neatest, most cleaned-cut gathering. At the hearing also Alan Cox teamed with us, summoned by Red Hat. But the appearance is misleading at times, as Alan is a very charming person, with a remarkably high education in technical as well as commercial matters (he holds an MBA too), despite his strong Welsh accent which makes him almost impossible to understand. But who knows Alan can easily understand why we were also nicked "the hairy guys".