<story><title>Court: Microsoft violated patent; can&apos;t sell Word</title><url>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091222/ap_on_bi_ge/us_microsoft_patent</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>cookiecaper</author><text>This is good. We need more of these things to happen so that we can get some power behind the anti-software-patent lobby. Software patents have to become too dangerous to keep around, and that happens by things like this; right now, Microsoft and others use patents to lord over Linux and make vague threats about litigation. This is an important part of Microsoft&apos;s strategy, so software patents are important to them. But if more awesome things like making it illegal to sell Word and therefore Office happen, it&apos;ll be too dangerous to keep software patents around, MS will call up their cronies in Congress, and software patents will be out of commission in a year or less.&lt;p&gt;I hope all the patent trolls of the world open the floodgates on Microsoft, Apple, and the other behemoths in the computer industry so that we can finally put the issue to rest.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>dpatru</author><text>The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly. --Abraham Lincoln</text></comment>
<story><title>Court: Microsoft violated patent; can&apos;t sell Word</title><url>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091222/ap_on_bi_ge/us_microsoft_patent</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>cookiecaper</author><text>This is good. We need more of these things to happen so that we can get some power behind the anti-software-patent lobby. Software patents have to become too dangerous to keep around, and that happens by things like this; right now, Microsoft and others use patents to lord over Linux and make vague threats about litigation. This is an important part of Microsoft&apos;s strategy, so software patents are important to them. But if more awesome things like making it illegal to sell Word and therefore Office happen, it&apos;ll be too dangerous to keep software patents around, MS will call up their cronies in Congress, and software patents will be out of commission in a year or less.&lt;p&gt;I hope all the patent trolls of the world open the floodgates on Microsoft, Apple, and the other behemoths in the computer industry so that we can finally put the issue to rest.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>cloudkj</author><text>I&apos;d argue that, rather than banning software patents outright, the process by which these patents are approved should be put under high scrutiny and changed. For a lot of large companies, the approach really is similar to throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks. Having gone through the process recently, I&apos;m amazed at how easy it is for an engineer to conceive an idea, pitch it to a few paralegals and lawyers, and get it written up to submit to the USPTO. IMHO, there&apos;s a big disconnect between the engineering minds that actually come up with legitimate patentable ideas and the IP attorneys that write and file the patents.&lt;p&gt;Getting rid of software patents altogether is quite extreme. You need a mechanism in place to protect the property rights of individuals and corporations. When there&apos;s absolutely no sense of preservation of property - whether it be tangible or intangible - innovation and risk taking are going to suffer.</text></comment>