Dear Microsoft, Please sue me.
As you’ve probably heard Microsoft is suing salesforce.com over nine patents Microsoft holds. One would probably assume these patents are for some ultra complicated algorithm or computer process hidden within the depths of top secret Microsoft source code. Well you’d be wrong, really wrong.
Let’s take a look at just a few of the patents they are suing over.
1) System and method for providing and displaying a web page having an embedded menu
2) Method and system for stacking toolbars in a computer display
Wait, what?!?! They own a patent on a flipping web menu!?! Yes, it would appear so. So if you have ever created or implemented a menu on a web page you are infringing on a Microsoft patent. See the menu across the top of this page? Yup, I’m a rebel.
3) Aggregation of system settings into objects
I’m not patent lawyer but I’m pretty sure this one means you can’t store some type of system setting (aka text/boolean/etc) value in an object. I didn’t read through the entire patent filing but I’m guessing ‘object’ refers to a class object or database object. So if I can’t store system settings in any of these two places where on earth can I store them! Maybe Microsoft thinks there is some pixie dust magic land where settings can be stored.
4) Timing and velocity control for displaying graphical information
This is lawyer speak for a time delayed tool tip. If you put your mouse over an icon, stop, wait 300ms, and show a tool tip you are busted! So the thousands of websites that have implemented this type of functionality are infringing on a Microsoft patent.
These are just a few of the patents Microsoft is suing over and the others I didn’t list are just as ridiculous.
What is all this madness? Well, there is a lot of crack smoking going on here. First we have the US Patent office smoking crack and approving ridiculous patents like these. Secondly, we have Microsoft smoking a little something suing over these absurd patents. If they were really concerned about protecting their intellectual property they would be suing a lot more people that have implemented these types of features, but they aren’t. They are suing a company that is a direct competitor that is innovating faster and more successfully than Microsoft in the given space. It’s is clear Microsoft is using it’s size and money ($250B) to take on a smaller company like salesforce ($10B) in the courtroom rather than on the keyboard which is just sad.
Some will say, “But Jason, you are biased supporter of salesforce.com”. Yup, that is probably true, but Microsoft isn’t really suing salesforce.com. They are suing all of us. Where “us” is any web developer or smaller company that has created the functionality mentioned above.
I really couldn’t agree more here, when I read the general ‘patents’ that MS cited in its filing, I couldn’t help my gut reaction that this is gross misuse of the legal system. This is about as frivolous as it comes and is clearly intended to serve something other than the pursuit of justice. What’s particularly noteworthy is that Msoft wasn’t so appalled by the idea of coping another company’s ‘innovations’ (and saying that Msoft innovated anything in the internet/cloud computing space is beyond a stretch of the imagination) in its past life (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Computer,_Inc._v._Microsoft_Corporation).
When will Ballmer and Co. realize that these sort of actions are what makes them so unappealing to the consumer?
HA! Acts of desperation. I love it.
Biased, yes. Wrong about your assessment, no. I feel the same way about this as I do about Apple filing suits against HTC. Trying to cut the competition through means of incredibly lame patents instead of defeating them with innovation is ridiculous and detrimental to the consumer.
If these were not so ridiculous I’d have no problem with them protecting IP. But this is obviously an attempt to cut a competitor down.
I completely agree with you on this. These patent infringements are a complete joke. So, if I use Visual Studio to create a web page, (and honestly I wouldn’t do that anyway) and in turn utilize a toolbar from the native .NET toolkit then technically I’m violating Microsoft patents, no? If not, then salesforce.com should purchase a copy of VisualStudio, put it on the shelf and tell Microsoft to beat it. I especially like the “Aggregation of system settings into objects” patent. Why on Earth didn’t Microsoft file a claim against Sun Microsystems when they created Java? This is a total act of desperation.
There is no doubt that this Microsoft patent thing is a big joke.. The biggest joke is there are hell number of companies which uses pirated windows OS… no one is buying it… this a universal truth..
I think Microsoft is going to sue the whole world in the very near future..OMG.. what will happen to us…. ?