Tag: Microsoft

Microsoft Can't Sell Windows in China

Posted on by Delain Law Office

According to PC World, a Chinese court has ruled that WIndows violates a Chinese company’s IP rights.

Of course, China, where somewhere around 80% of electronic materials such as computer software, movies and DVDs, and other media are pirated copies, shouldn’t complain.

The problem is over the interpretation of a licensing agreement between Microsoft and the company in question; the company says that the fonts it owns are not included in the licensing agreement, Microsoft says they are.

We’ll see who wins in the Chinese judicial system. My best wishes and condolences to Microsoft (and I’m not usually on their side).

Microsoft Faces Permanent Injunction against Selling Word | BNET Technology Blog | BNET

Posted on by Delain Law Office

Microsoft Faces Permanent Injunction against Selling Word | BNET Technology Blog | BNET.

The universe just heaved.

Any version of Microsoft Word that reads XML files will have to be pulled from the shelves within 60 days, based on a permanent injunction out of the patent litigation “rocket docket” court, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Patents give their owners the right to prevent others from making, using, selling, distributing or importing the covered invention in the United States. Here, a patent held by a company called i4i apparently covers the technology that Microsoft uses to even open .xml documents. Microsoft didn’t license the technology; they, according to the E.D. Tex., infringed the patent throughout their Office products.

Oops.

Microsoft Wins 10,000th Patent

Posted on by Delain Law Office

Microsoft Wins 10,000th Patent – Channel News by CRN and VARBusiness.

US Patent No. 7,479,950, issued to Microsoft, applies to Surface tabletop computing technology, which provides instant access to digital information in a novel, useful and nonobvious way, the goal being to make interactions between the physical and virtual worlds more seamless.

Microsoft is famous for aggressive protection of its intellectual property; that they now have 10,000 patents (and counting) backs that position up. They spend about $8 billion per year on R&D and regularly haul out the guns in patent warfare; their current target is open-source software, which they claim violates at least 40 Microsoft patents.

This is why Microsoft stock does well. This is why they survive, despite the worldwide snarl that the name engenders. Microsoft is a prime example of a company that has leveraged nothing but intellectual property into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise.

And to think it all started with a college drop-out.