On Thu, 9 Apr 2009 23:18:31 -0400, Mike Hall - MVP wrote:
[color=blue]
> "norm" <noone@nowhere.net> wrote in message
> news:u8mu7cYuJHA.4488@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...[color=green]
>> Mike Hall - MVP wrote:[color=darkred]
>>> "The poster formerly known as 'The Poster Formerly Known as Nina DiBoy'"
>>> <me211@privacy.net> wrote in message news:grm84p$tgk$1@aioe.org...
>>>> Alias wrote:
>>>>> [url]http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9131339[/url]
>>>>> Now ain't that nice, MS gets fined for stealing WPA. The irony! MS gets
>>>>> conviction of stealing the program they use to make sure no one steals
>>>>> from them!
>>>>>
>>>>> Alias
>>>>
>>>> Oh, that is priceless! Thanks for sharing. :)
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> "Software is like sex, it's better when it's free."
>>>> - Linus Torvalds
>>>>
>>>> DRM and unintended consequences:
>>>> [url]http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=435&tag=nl.e101[/url]
>>>
>>>
>>> Its states an infringement of a patent, not theft directly. Either way,
>>> it has cost MS dear..
>>>
>>>[/color]
>> Maybe I misunderstand, but if infringing on a patent is not theft, then
>> how is not adhering to a eula theft? How many times have people in this ng
>> been called thieves because they are outside of the parameters of a eula?
>>
>> --
>> norm[/color]
>
>
> We are not party to how the patent was infringed, that is to say that there
> was no reference to MS knowingly using Uniloc's code. There are, however,
> two things which we do know.
>
> 1. The jurors do not like Microsoft
> 2. The directors of Uniloc will be able to pay themselves a nice bonus
> should they feel the need.. :-)[/color]

My first thought on looking at the article was that Microsoft might have
independently hit on the same theft-prevention technique. I have done a
similar thing, when what I "invented" was (a) pretty obvious, and (b)
covered by a patent. In my case, my boss knew about the patent and stopped
me...

Which pretty much agrees with what you said, Mike.

Still - they could have done it knowingly, n'est-ce pas?

I also wonder if it will be appealed further by MS...

Maybe we could also start a long OT subthread about the iniquities and
inequities of out patent system and other IP systems. (I hope not, and I
promise not to post further if it happens!)

--
Gene E. Bloch letters0x40blochg0x2Ecom