[wellylug] new MS software patent application

[Darryl Hamilton]

>>It'll never get approved. It's been in use in all programming language
>>since the start of computers.
>>
>>Only Microsoft would try something like this...
> 
> Hmm, Kodak just won their lawsuit with Sun over a comparably fundamental
> software patent (in JAVA), SCO tried it with bits of the Linux kernel,
> Compudigm are trying it here in NZ with a very broad patent on software
> interpolation of data and Tektronix are sueing virtually every gaming software
> company for infringing their patent on rendering 3D images in 2D (ie: on
> screen). MS did win their FAT one & got an ongoing revenue stream.

Wasn't that patent recently overturned? (the FAT one)

I can remember reading about it a few weeks ago, and thought there might 
be some hope after all...

>>Imagine trying to enforce it if it got approved :-) 

Enforcing it isn't the problem, they have the patent, they've got the 
cash to put it through the courts.

The big problem is getting the USPTO to actually do some research before 
granting stuff like this at all. They've proved so many times throughout 
the years that whoever works there has absolutely no idea what they're 
doing. Changing it will be very difficult, if not impossible though :(

d.