Yes, listing 235 numbers is turr'ble hard work

Posted May 31, 2007 5:21 UTC (Thu) by felixfix (subscriber, #242)
Parent article: OSBC: The Microsoft/Novell panel

I fully understand why Microsoft does not want to trudge uphill thru the snow both ways barefoot with barbed wire for traction and pounding their own oxygen and hydrogen atoms together to make water to make the snow that is making their journey so hard ...

... because by gum, to do all that, every day, just to get to law school and back, and then, and on top of the homework -- which by the way has to be done under light obtained by rubbing flint and steel together *vigorously* and *continually* to keep the sparks flowing to generate enough light -- well, as I say, to have to list out each and every one of those 235 patent numbers, on top of everything else -- and to do it with your feet, already sore from all that snow and barbed wire, because your hands are busy generating sparks -- well, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, that is just too much to expect.

I have never seen such an ungrateful hive of villainy as the free source community.

Yes, listing 235 numbers is turr'ble hard work

Posted May 31, 2007 22:00 UTC (Thu) by giraffedata (guest, #1954) [Link] (2 responses)

He didn't say it would be too hard to publish the list. He said it would be too hard to respond to all the questions, challenges, lawsuits, etc. that would result.

He also said it is customary in the industry not to give specifics of the infringement you expect until you're ready to actually demand compensation.

Yes, listing 235 numbers is turr'ble hard work

Posted May 31, 2007 22:38 UTC (Thu) by felixfix (subscriber, #242) [Link] (1 responses)

It's as simple as a press release or even just a web page listing the patent numbers. Requests for licensing, if any, could be turned into a profit center, I am sure Microsoft knows how to do that.

Other requests; what would they be? Clarification of the patent? Refer them to the press release or web page. It's a very simple process.

Challenges, lawsuits, etc.; what would those be? Seems to me a tacit admission they have weak patents.

Industry custom; sorry. Physical products have patent numbers listed on the packaging and on the product itself. What makes software so special? Could it be that their patents are worthless for anything more than an initial stock jump from the announcement?

Yes, listing 235 numbers is turr'ble hard work

Posted Jun 1, 2007 3:25 UTC (Fri) by giraffedata (guest, #1954) [Link]

Industry custom; sorry. Physical products have patent numbers listed on the packaging and on the product itself. What makes software so special?

They don't label software with the patents it uses like they do physical products?

It doesn't matter, though, because this is not the industry custom the Microsoft lawyer referred to. He referred to a custom of not publicly announcing specifically which products you suspect of infringing which of your patents (presumably in spite of the fact that you publicly announce that you have such suspicions) until you're ready to do something about it. (I don't think anyone cares which Microsoft products use which Microsoft patents).