re: Get your copy of M$ Word while you still can
Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Windows 98 Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by bob wells
(1594 messages posted)
Windows 98?????????
On Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 5:38 pm, gewg_ wrote:
>The story so far:
>
>After September 11, 2001, Federal law enforcement agencies needed a way
>to parse huge piles of documents to extract the terrorism-looking stuff.
>A company called i4i came up with a way to do this.
>They developed an app and received a patent for their technique.
>
>Microsoft (being fully aware of i4i) knew the technique was patented
>but decided to include it in M$ Word without paying royalties.
>(This is called "willful infringement" and carries an additional stigma.)
>
>NOTE: There is a whole separate story re: ISO and M$'s "OOXML"
>which is so corrupt that it makes this story look like Mary Poppins.
>http://google.com/search?q=defectivebydesign+OOXML+ISO
>
>WRT M$ Word documents, i4i's market for their tool went to zero
>and they filed a patent infringement suit against M$.
>At this point, M$ *could* have treated i4i as they would like to be treated
>by licensing the technology and settling up their debt. **M$ refused**.
>The suit was filed in the Federal Court in Eastern Texas
>(which is infamously friendly to "intellectual property" plaintiffs).
>A verdict in the case was rendered recently against M$ with a fine of $200M.
>
>During the trial, M$'s lawyers compared i4i's lawsuit to gov't bailouts.
>The judge told them to discontinue that tactic. They persisted.
>When rendering the verdict, the judge added $40M (out of M$'s pocket)
>for the contempt that M$'s lawyers showed him.
>He also added $50M for the willful infringement of M$'s corporate officers
>for a total of $290M (less than 2 day's earnings for M$ in 2008).
>
>To remedy the actions that brought about the case,
>the judge ordered (effective 60 days hence)
>that M$ will have to stop shipping infringing versions of M$ Word.
>This means that M$ will have to pull the disks and stop all downloads;
>the plug-ins available for previous versions must be discontinued as well.
>Computer vendors will also have to stop installing M$ Word.
>
>In order to sell M$ Word after that,
>M$ will have to remove the feature or arrange licencing terms for it.
>In its usual "we're above the law" way,
>Microsoft has filed an "emergency motion" to continue shipping their products.
>A decision hasn't been rendered. (I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.)
>
>On a related note, i4i has stated that the XML techniques in OpenOffice.org
>do *NOT* violate their patent.
>(OpenOffice is Free Software.)
>
>...and a final item from me: SOFTWARE
>PATENTS SUCK
>(as do most "intellectual property" laws these days).
>
>With any luck, the US Supreme Court will uphold the Bilski verdict
>(a completely different case from i4i's)
>cache
>of http://www.techjournalsouth.com/news/article.html?item_id=6466
>and we'll be done with most of this nonsense.
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 |  | re: Get your copy of M$ Word while you still can (bob wells: Tue, Aug 18, 2009, 9:49 pm) |
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