Microsoft's
Open Specification Promise (OSP) has been somewhat controversial, which is probably not what the company intended. The OSP is basically a we won't sue you promise to developers who implement software based on any of a variety of Microsoft specifications. Due to longstanding distrust or specific legal issues, some open source developers have viewed the OSP as a threat rather than a promise. As OSCON today, Microsoft tried to lay some of those fears to rest, and also extended the reach of the OSP.