Microsoft and others would be foolish to simply abandon their patents while today's patent system remains intact. That would probably also be a really good way

Microsoft and others would be foolish to simply abandon their patents while today's patent system remains intact. That would probably also be a really good way to face a massive shareholder lawsuit. There are many companies still that are not part of OIN so Microsoft is allowed to use those patents if it has to as part of a legal strategy if they are sued for patent infringement by another practicing entity that isn't part of oin. The Microsoft of old certainly did a lot of harm to open source, or at least tried. However, companies are collections of people not monolithic entities that have a single consistent viewpoint forever. Its leadership has changed, and it has brought on many strong open-source proponents in positions of Authority or influence. I'm not saying that I "trust" Microsoft, but I do think that the company has evolved and can be a positive influence and contributor in open source. You also say that none of the founders of oin want the patent Wars to stop. I really don't think that that's true particularly if you look at Red Hat or SUSE, though I may be biased because I do work for Red Hat and have worked with Novell / SUSE. Microsoft is a corporation and it exists to make money. It does not and cannot operate on ideals alone.