Microsoft Pays Off E-Data Over Downloading Patent
from the leave-us-alone dept
Microsoft has decided they have more important things to do with their time than fight a silly patent from a company that claims they have a European patent on downloading information onto a tangible product (yes, that received a patent). While we covered the original lawsuit, Microsoft has apparently decided to just pay E-Data to leave them alone. Of course, E-Data will now use this payoff from Microsoft to hit up just about everyone else to get them to pay up as well. They've already stated that anyone who dares to offer a music download service in Europe (including Apple) had better be prepared to drop some cash at the E-Data patent tollbooth. Once again, how does this encourage innovation? All this has done is make it more difficult and expensive to offer an obvious service.
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They need all their lawyers
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Re: They need all their lawyers
But seriously,
I think that Microsoft is becoming the first place people sue when they have a stupid patent. With the exception of the Eolas patent, they haven't even bothered fighting them lately. It's a pisser.
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