Re: [Fsfe-uk] Judge bans Microsoft Word sales - UK relation?

[Chris Croughton]

On Thu, Aug 13, 2009 at 01:52:47PM +0100, MJ Ray wrote:
> Via Debian-uk, Harry Rickards, Sussex LUG, Andrew Guard and BBC:
> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/technology/8197990.stm
> Judge bans Microsoft Word sales
> 
> Of course, it's being appealed on the grounds that the patent
> is invalid and that Word doesn't infringe, but some are suggesting
> it will show to the world just how flawed software patents are.
> Which way do you think it will go?

I think that MS are correct on this and the patent is invalid.  I hope
so, otherwise almost any use of XML as an open standard (for instance in
Open Office) seems to be blocked.  Much as I like to see MS hoist with
their own petard I hope that it gets declared invalid, and that this
then causes other SW patents to be thrown out.

> The UK is probably the legal system most similar to the US.  Are
> there lessons for us, or is our patent law sufficiently different?

I think we are frighteningly similar.  Whether our patent lawyers will
take any notice is a different matter.

(Off topic, but thanks for posting the 'low' URL, I find the BBC's 'hi'
ones very annoying even in Firefox and unreadable in text-only
browsers.)

Chris C