US patent office gives i4i Word up in Microsoft snub
Microsoft's request to have the patent claim it brought against Canadian software maker i4i examined has been thrown out by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). i4i said it was pleased that all the claims of US patent number 5,787,449 that belong to the company came out unscathed following a re-examination called for by …
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Apparently the Patent Office said: "yes, it is a stupid patent, but it is better than the average Microsoft patent."
Its OK....
Microsoft just got Patent 7,712,086 granted which covers the running of applications from "portable devices" without them having to be installed on the computer they are running on.
US PTO Issues *Valid* patten
Oh wait, it was the Canadian patent office that issued one.
The US one issued to MS is worthless.
I don't like *any* software patents. But this looks remarkably like the system working *properly*.
Thumbs up for that.
A real good news story!
"there still remain important matters of patent law at stake, and we are considering our options to get them addressed", but presumably not by banning forbidding all software patents. Microsoft can comfort themselves that, as with other patents, this one will expire in around 20 years.
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
unintended consequences ?
"We are disappointed, but there still remain important matters of patent law at stake, and we are considering our options to get them addressed, including a petition to the Supreme Court."
does Microsoft really want to go there ?
As the great philosopher once said:
"Get it reet up ye!"
Patents, by and large, are a detriment to software. There probably are a few occasions where a patent protects masses of R&D on something truly novel but most....most protect the blatantly obvious or otherwise predictable.
Whilst I am deeply enjoying the Schadenfreude of MS getting reamed by a patent, I would much rather that i4i did not have this patent (or only had a seriously time limited) and that MS did not have its bollocks patents of FAT etc.
But if MS see fit to screw over HTC, TomTom and threaten the world with their mystery patents; then it is only fair that the world can screw them back.
Top tip to HTC, TomTom et al: chuck some money at F/OSS. Get them to write drivers that can be istalled on Windows for EXT2/3/4/Whatever and then stick two fingers up to the MS bully-boys.
We don't like patents
unless they are owned by Microsoft.
S Balmer, CEO Misrosoft
hang on
I thought at one point last year MS said the code in Office covered by i4i's patent wasn't really used much by anyone, if at all . Now they're saying it's so important that they're willing to waste the Supreme Court's time with it. Oh, that's right, they have two sides to their lying mouth.
In Shock
Microsoft actually got called to account for stealing something?
no sympathy for MS (and others)
Sorry MS - and Apple, Nokia, IBM, etc etc ..... you supported frivolous software patents (by not arguing against them) and now it has come back to bite you.
I'm no fan of patent trolls, but you reap what you sow.
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