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Re: [News] Microsoft Executive: The Company Won't Sue

Roy Schestowitz wrote:

...
Microsoft's stolen code and IP infringements

,----[ Quote ]
| Soon, MS-DOS 6.0 was released, including the Microsoft DoubleSpace
| disk compression utility program. Stac successfully sued Microsoft
| for patent infringement regarding the compression algorithm
| used in DoubleSpace...

I notice that Stac *didn't* sue any /end users/ of Microsoft for using their IP.

...
| Alacritech sued Microsoft in Federal District Court on August 11,
| 2004, alleging that Microsoft's existing and future operating
| systems containing the "Chimney" TCP offload architecture uses
| Alacritech's proprietary SLIC Technology architecture...

Again, were any /end users/ sued for using the stolen IP?

| In April 2001, Intertrust initiated a lawsuit against Microsoft. The
| lawsuit ultimately accused Microsoft of infringing 11 of Intertrust's
| patents and almost 130 of the company's patent claims...

Were any /end users/ sued for infringing the patents?

| Visto Corporation has filed a legal action against Microsoft for
| misappropriating Visto's intellectual property...

Were any /end users/ sued for using the misappropriated IP?

| Telecoms company AT&T accused Microsoft of infringing its patent for
| a digital speech coder in its Window software in a lawsuit it filed
| in 2000...

Were any /end users/ sued?

...

| A bitter fight has broken out between Symantec and Microsoft.
| Symantec claims that Microsoft stole code from Veritas software...

And are they suing any /end users/?


I suspect it's probably because all the people who had their IP stolen had the real sense to note that it wasn't the end users who stole the IP and used it without consent, but rather the "publisher"/author who gave it to them to use - I very much doubt if the end users even knew where it originalted; well not until the real thieves were sued, *and* they noticed the news.


...

The Apple vs. Microsoft GUI Lawsuit

,----[ Quote ]
| Without warning, Apple filed suit against Microsoft in federal court on
| March 17, 1988 for violating Apple's copyrights on the "visual displays"
| of the Macintosh. (Apple also filed suit against HP for its NewWave
| environment that ran on top of Windows 2.0.)

Why didn't they sue *ALL* MS Windwos users - it would have ended the MS competition to their OS in one fair swoop: who would want to use Windwos when they're liable to be sued?


It all boils down to going after the real thieves

| | Apple's suit included 189 contested visual displays that Apple
| believed violated its copyright.
| | Microsoft countersued, but it failed to stem the bad publicity.
| Windows' development community was terrified that any court ordered
| changes to the software would render their products incompatiblea
| nd make Windows undesirable to consumers.

As would suing the /end users/.


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