

Microsoft sues Motorola over Android patent infringements - j_b_f
http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_on_the_issues/archive/2010/10/01/microsoft-sues-motorola-over-android-patent-infringements.aspx

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praptak
So much for the _"Microsoft doesn't have a history of patent lawsuit trolling.
[...] At the end of the day MS is a developer centric company, they pride
themselves on the ability to make things, and patents are an annoying side
show to that."_ argument found here:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1745932>

~~~
city41
Patents are a big deal at Microsoft. They are highly encouraged. Employees who
succeed in securing a patent receive a plaque that is proudly displayed in
their office as well as a nice bonus.

~~~
bobbyi
It's actually a cube rather than a plaque. Some people have pyramids on their
desk built from patent cubes.

~~~
stumm
The cube is for filing a patent. You get the plaque when it is awarded.

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raganwald
What I like about these lawsuits is the possibility that the big players will
start aggressively campaigning for patent reform. As long as they all entered
into cosy cross-licensing deals with each other, they were running an
oligopoly that erected a barrier to entry against upstarts.

But now that they're starting to sue each other, the oligopoly's ranks have
split and patents are going to bring everything to a stand-still.

~~~
dctoedt
> What I like about these lawsuits is the possibility that the big players
> will start aggressively campaigning for patent reform.

I wouldn't count on it -- if anything, they'll think, "hmm, we could be next,
we'd better start getting patents of our own." Then once they have patents,
someone in management will ask, "hey, we have these expensive patents, why
don't we deploy them against the competition." That's especially true if some
exec wants to get credit (and bonuses) for a license royalty stream or a
damages award.

~~~
dhimes
Damn. You ruined my day.

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spot
Didn't MS pledge not to use their patents offensively?

EDIT:
[http://www.microsoft.com/interop/principles/osspatentpledge....](http://www.microsoft.com/interop/principles/osspatentpledge.mspx)

~~~
radley
They'll only sue you if you try to make money of it:

"If You engage in the commercial distribution or importation of software
derived from an open source project or if You make or use such software
outside the scope of creating such software code, You do not benefit from this
promise for such distribution or for these other activities...

Software is deemed to be commercially distributed within the meaning of this
promise when the distributor derives revenues in connection with the
distribution, such as from subscriptions, updates, or user-based connection
fees or from services that are contractually required for a customer to obtain
the current version and/or updates of the software product in question."

~~~
bad_user
Open-source means non-commercial now?

~~~
kenjackson
The never said that open source means non-commercial. They said that above and
beyond being open source this promise only applies to these situations.

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GHFigs
It is absolutely imperative that we all formulate our opinions in ignorance of
the patents themselves. Pay no attention to the following words and numbers.

    
    
      Common Name Space for Long and Short File Names: 5,579,517
      Common Name Space for Long and Short File Names: 5,758,352 
      Monitoring Entropic Conditions of a Flash Memory Device as an Indicator for Invoking Erasure Operations: 6,621,746
      Radio Interface Layer in a Cell Phone with a Set of APIs Having a
      Hardware-Independent Proxy Layer and a Hardware-Specific Driver Layer: 6,826,762
      Method and System for Managing Changes to a Contact Database: 6,909,910
      Flexible Architecture for Notifying Applications of State Changes: 7,644,376
      Context Sensitive Menu System/Menu Behavior: 5,664,133
      Method and System for Supporting Off-line Mode of Operation and Synchronization Using Resource State Information: 6,578,054
      Generating Meeting Requests and Group Scheduling from a Mobile Device: 6,370,566

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peterbessman
Maybe this is a dumb question, but why are they targetting motorola? Don't
these patents apply to, well, every smartphone in existence? It can't be a
matter of stupidity, so I wonder what made them decide to go after Motorola,
and not Nokia, Apple, HTC, Palm, and everyone else who makes a phone with a
"Contact Database."

~~~
kenjackson
Well you have to read the actual claims. The title means nothing... like
literally nothing. It could be that in their patent they require the contact
list to also show a nickname, and only Motorola does that.

Who knows, but you should never speculate based on the patent name.

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rbanffy
Wasn't it today I read something here on HN about Microsoft and EFF
campaigning against software patents?

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DeusExMachina
_Our action today merely seeks to ensure respect for our intellectual property
rights infringed by Android devices; and judging by the recent actions by
Apple and Oracle, we are not alone in this respect._

Well, it does not make it right.

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twymer
What I don't understand is why this is strictly against Motorola. What does
the Droid line do that others do not to warrant this?

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ahi
I gather from the other thread that Motorola used to run WinMo. When your
customers don't want to buy your shit, sue them so they have to.

~~~
rbanffy
They want Motorola to build WinMo 7 phones. They sue because, if they didn't,
nobody would bother to build them.

It's Extortion 101. You beat up one store-owner of the street so you don't
have to beat up all of them. Nobody wants to be the second to be beaten up.
You probably can't beat up all of them and that would serve no purpose.

I am surprised phone manufacturers - since they cross-license tech all the
time - don't create a common defense fund for taking down there lawsuits.

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rbanffy
If only they launched a WinMo 7 device...

[http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/362876/patent_protec...](http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/362876/patent_protection_key_windows_phone_license/)

~~~
bad_user
Oh, if only these companies would sue them back. Maybe they'll sue Nokia.

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rbanffy
That's why they won't dare to sue Google. When they do, it's time to dump all
your MSFT stock (if you still hold any) because they have nothing left to
lose.

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forgottenpaswrd
Microsoft way of life.

Ballmer said that the same way they "solved" the netbook problem, they will
solve the phone problem. In both cases the solution does not involve technical
ability to compete.

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runjake
Foot, meet gun.

~~~
seymourz
Shameless Microsoft. They don't have the ability to compete in the market.
They just want to stop other ones' innovation.

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konad
A few years ago people were suing each other after getting patents for stuff
that already existed by having "via the internet" tagged on the end.

Now were in the new age, where all those patents that ended "via the internet"
now have "on a mobile telephone" instead.

Collecting email on your phone is patented ?

Get Fucked Microsoft, shove it up your arse

~~~
houseabsolute
You might benefit from rereading this article.

[http://www.danshapiro.com/blog/2010/09/how-to-read-a-
patent-...](http://www.danshapiro.com/blog/2010/09/how-to-read-a-patent-
in-60-second/)

~~~
konad
my rage is not abated

~~~
houseabsolute
I guess you are a Motorola shareholder or something? If not, is this likely to
harm you in any way?

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orangecat
_If not, is this likely to harm you in any way?_

If it contributes to Android going away and leaving us to "choose" between
Apple and Microsoft controlling our computing experience, then yes.

~~~
houseabsolute
That is extraordinarily unlikely. I can't think of more than one or two big
products that have ever been totally shut down as a result of patent
infringement. It simply is not done.

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berntb
Isn't there a business niche here, for buying self defense patents?

Slogan: "Send $X and the name of the company -- and we'll return a list of
patents (and prices to buy them) which that company violate."

Edit: Grammar fix.

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raminf
Godfather walks into the Grocer's and demands they buy their deli meats from
him. Grocer says "No thanks, I'm getting my meat free from those other guys.
My customers are happy too."

Godfather says, "Yes, but not buying from me might expose you to harm in the
future."

Grocer says, "It's OK, I'm not worried. Besides, who would want to hurt me?"

Godfather comes back the next week and shoots him in the kneecap. "See, I
warned you someone might come in and hurt you."

s/Godfather/Microsoft/g

s/Grocer/Motorola/g

s/Deli Meat/Android/g

Wonder how much fight the next, um, Grocery store will put up.

