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1. 

   Jeff R, 29 Jul 2004 @ 10:55am

   
   

   No Subject Given

   Let's not forget the (in)famous "Different behaviour when you click a button once, twice or hold it down for short and long periods of time" patent.
   I'm particularly fond of that one.
   

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2. 

   Anonymous Coward, 29 Jul 2004 @ 1:13pm

   
   

   No Subject Given

   Patenting everything is Microsoft's solution to open source..sadly enough, I've come to believe this. The worst part, is it won't stop innovation in other countries, only in the U.S. (and those countries who follow our laws).

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3. 

   dan, 29 Jul 2004 @ 1:29pm

   
   

   Re: No Subject Given

   
   I'm not a huge MS supporter, but I don't know about this knee jerk reactive statement. In a lot of ways, patenting everything is MS's solution to the patent office; namely, if they didn't patent some of this obvious stuff, they're afraid they'll be sued over it. The real question will arise when they have the chance to enforce these patents -- what do they do then?
   
   Look at IBM....they have a ton more patents than anyone else, to my knowledge, and actively pursue more. For the most part they seem to use them to protect themselves, however.

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4. 

   thecaptain, 29 Jul 2004 @ 6:41pm

   
   

   Re: No Subject Given

   What will they do when it comes time to enforce?
   
   I'm tending to agree with the anonymous poster above...they will use all that money and power to the best of their abilities.
   
   They can't buy open source...BUT, the threat of a lawsuit over a spurious patent by Microsoft WILL shut down MANY MANY open source projects...effectively hamstringing the acceptance of open source (a competitor winning more and more recruits away from them every day).
   
   Think about it...you're a project of maybe a dozen core programmers...maybe all working on it in your spare time or you've made a small(ish) company and are making a reasonable amount of money. One cease-and-desist letter from Microsoft and you are toast. Yeah, you MIGHT be able to win in the court of law...but that's thousands (if not MILLIONS) of dollars and YEARS down the line because while you MIGHT be able to afford ONE good lawyer (or get pro-bono from a couple), Microsoft can throw away MILLIONS and an ENTIRE legal department at you to make SURE you pay as much as possible for your victory.

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