Microsoft sues Alcatelucent for ... anything and everything to do with messaging?

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juha

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#10992 24-Dec-2006 12:07

Story here in VoIP for SMB.

Check out the patents Microsoft has. Maybe I'm missing something, but it looks like you can patent anything you like in the US. The fact that MS is suing Alcatelucent on patent grounds is worrying because they've now patented RSS. Betanews quotes Don Dodge, Microsoft's director of emerging business as saying Redmond's action is defensive and the patent won't ever be enforced, but... the Alcatelucent suit seems to say otherwise.

Juha

juha

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#56295 24-Dec-2006 17:19

Responding to my own post... Don Dodge explained to me that the law suit is Microsoft defending itself against Alcatel!

In November, Alcatel sued Microsoft twice alleging seven patent infringements relating to IPTV technologies.

Lucent has also sued Microsoft over alleged patent infringements. Insane stuff.

Juha

johnr

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#56310 24-Dec-2006 21:40

What a mess!!!

I forgot who is taking who to court now!!

bring on Judge Judy

weblordpepe

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#56670 31-Dec-2006 19:39

Software patents = bad idea.

This is their only use - so big companies can sue each other and sue little people. It has nothing to do with developing technology.

Methesda

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#56824 4-Jan-2007 08:01

Agreed.

On a shallow level, it easy to see that bad stuff happens around patents, bringing out the worst in people, whereas good stuff happens around open source software - with the possible exception of 'open source elitism' that I have yet to see any real cases of, just accusations.

juha

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#56828 4-Jan-2007 08:52

More patent insanity on Don Dodge's blog - a company called Intertainer is suing Apple, Google and Napster because it has a patent covering... video and audio distribution over the Internet. No, really. The US Patent Office gave Intertainer a patent on that in 2001.

Juha