Microsoft and patents back in the news
“Were they ever out?” one might ask, but this week:
CNET has this piece from Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith offering Two cheers for intellectual-property law and opining that
nothing is more effective at focusing attention on the arcane subject of patent law than a $1.52 billion jury verdict–in a case that could affect everyone who uses digital music
Forbes has this that
Under threat of new multimillion euro fines, Microsoft Corp. said Thursday that it had signed up its first licensee for a program EU regulators told it to set up three years ago to share code that helps servers work with the Windows operating platform.
and here in The Guardian, Wendy Grossman asks Will the EU ruling against Microsoft have unintended consequences? concluding that
before you pop the champagne corks, consider: is this any way to run a patent regime?