In the Brazilian battle between open-source and proprietary software, Microsoft has threatened to go to the courts. And the company has come off badly. In the last two weeks, it has backed down, attempting to control the damage done to its image by the summons directed at the sociologist and professor Sérgio Amadeu da Silveira, head of the ITI (National Information Technology Institute), a government body charged with implementing open-source software here.
Through their lawyer, Mario Panseri Ferreira, Microsoft demanded that Silveira explain a statement he made in the March 30 issue of the weekly business-focused magazine, Carta Capital. In his statement, he accused Microsoft of using "drug-dealing methods" by offering Windows to state and city governments as part of social inclusion programs. On May 14 (45 days later), based on the Press Law--introduced by the military dictators who ran the country until the 1980s--the world's leading software company demanded a judicial explanation. Under Brazilian law, this marks the first step in suing Silveira for slander.
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http://www.linuxjournal.com//article.php?sid=7654