http://sync.sympatico.ca/news/microsoft_loses_supreme_court_case_on_i4i_patent/3e0c0817

Microsoft Strikes again as they try to steal someone else's patent. This is how microsoft was made, so why not try to do it more and get away with it? Kudos to this small company on taking on the big giant! Finally someone has the guts to say "I don't think so to microsoft." Even though they got a lot of money out of microsoft, it's really only pocket change to them. Should've gone for more in my opinion.

Its not how MS was done, its how MS hater thinks how was done, that, or they just want an excuse to bash them when the opotturnity comes :rolleyes:

Wasn't that the stupid should-have-never-been-awarded patent on compression in the Docx file format?

Uh... what? Microsoft BOUGHT the rights to all the early stuff you are reportedly saying they 'stole' :/

Except Windows Media Player and Windows 3.1 GUI. They just paid off Apple when they got sued

Of course Apple stole it's GUI from Xerox...

It's not the first time they have been sued. :shrug:

Pssh. Minor details <_<

But everything else Bill Gates basically saw a use for and bought up the patents from companies who didn't see past the next 6 months. He hit gold buying up stuff people developed that they thought was useless.

If I was Microsoft I'd buy Canada and kick that company out :celebration:

Lolol. Buy Canada, deport everyone and bomb the country XD.

Wait. I'm in Canada :sadvaultboy:

this is to general of a statement for me to be on the side if i4i

Wasn't there also Stacker and a whole load of other stuff? Even BSD Unix which is pretty liberal with its licensing got miffed as they didn't get credit (their sole requirement) for the inclusion of their code in some of Microsoft's networking tools. Their usual MO is to bury stuff in partnership contracts and rely on their counterparts to not read them properly so that they can legally lift all manner of intellectual property: this happened when I was at DEC, although it didn't make a lot of difference since Microsoft didn't know what to do with the technology and DEC promptly reorganised itself out of existence without anyone else's help anyway.

Sorry, but this isn't really big news. Suits like this have become a daily occurrence in the industry, and not just with Microsoft. Software patents have become a pretty cutthroat sub-industry. Besides, why are we worrying about stepping on peoples' software patents when Bill Gates has tied some innocent woman to the train tracks? There's a train coming, and he's just standing there twirling his mustache! Somebody help!

True, the whole software patenting system has rather got out of control. Copyrighting software is fine, but there's far too much in the way of patenting the very, very obvious going on out there: Amazon's infamous "One Click" patent being perhaps the most egregious example. The fact that infringement is called "prior art" says about as much as I need to know...

It's rather sad that patents were meant to encourage innovation rather than stifle it.

This x10. It's annoying how these people think they know the ins and outs of business.

EDIT: Not to mention, the patent system does need an overhaul.

And Xerox salvaged it from the Roswell flying saucer crash...

Yep, it's turned patent-trolling into a big business.

1. Become an attorney
2. Hunt for patents that have arguably infringed-upon unbeknownst to the patent-holder
3. Profit


Nobody except Xerox, Ron Popeil, and the guy that "invented" Pop Rocks will ever know what really happened that day.

Nor will it be the last.