[LINK] web: Judge orders Microsoft to stop selling Word

[grove at zeta.org.au]

On Wed, 12 Aug 2009, David Goldstein wrote:

> A bit rich to single out Microsoft as if they are the only organisation or person who disagrees with a court decision.
>
> It would be more likely to be unusual if a company or person has a decision go against them that they come out and agree with it.
>
> But then, why should I expect realistic comment on such a topic...

The real problem is that MS has no regard for the law as it stands in relation to their products. 
They are very happy to abuse patent rights in the full knowledge that the case will wear down the 
contender and drain them of capital or MS will subsequently offer them a settlement that tends to shut up 
the shareholders etc.

In the end, Word will remain (MS is still shipping it while under appeal) and MS will probably drop a bundle 
of money on the i4i company.  Yet another court case fought on the power of money, not the ethics of their 
evil business practices.

What I would like to see is MS forced into a chapter 11 and the company folded with their evil products 
dumped and flushed like the refuse they are .....   .... only to be replaced by another similarly evil 
product vendor.  A bit like what happened to Australia's 2007 election, really....


rachel


> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Jan Whitaker <jwhit at janwhitaker.com>
>> To: link at anu.edu.au
>> Sent: Thursday, 13 August, 2009 10:35:02 AM
>> Subject: [LINK] web: Judge orders Microsoft to stop selling Word
>>
>> [oops]
>>
>> "Judge orders Microsoft to stop selling Word
>> August 13, 2009 - 9:47AM
>>
>> Microsoft plans to appeal a ruling by a Texas judge that would ban
>> the US software giant from selling its popular Word program in the
>> United States.
>>
>> A Texas district court on Tuesday ruled in favor of Canadian software
>> firm i4i Ltd and filed an injunction preventing Microsoft from
>> selling the 2003 and 2007 versions of Word. Microsoft was given a two
>> month deadline to comply.
>>
>> The patent relates to XML, or extensible markup language, which is
>> used to manipulate a document's content and architecture separately.
>>
>> Apart from Microsoft's Word, XML is used by other word processing
>> applications such as OpenOffice.
>>
>> The court also ruled that Microsoft would have to pay more than
>> $US290 million in damages to i4i, which makes software for
>> manipulating documents, for infringing the patent.
>>
>> Microsoft, which is involved in a number of legal battles over
>> patents, said it plans to appeal the verdict.
>>
>> "If they (Mic..." (13 August 2009)
>>
>> http://www.theage.com.au/technology/biz-tech/judge-orders-microsoft-to-stop-selling-word-20090813-eit2.html
>>       http://snipurl.com/prnm8
>>
>> Loved this part:
>> "We believe the evidence clearly demonstrated that we do not infringe
>> and that the i4i patent is invalid," Microsoft spokesman Kevin Kutz said.
>>
>> I guess MS doesn't like the rule of law unless it's *their* rules.
>> Jan
>>
>>
>> Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
>> jwhit at janwhitaker.com
>> blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
>> business: http://www.janwhitaker.com
>>
>> Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or
>> sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
>> ~Madeline L'Engle, writer
>>
>> _ __________________ _
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Link mailing list
>> Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
>> http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
>
>
>
>      __________________________________________________________________________________
> Find local businesses and services in your area with Yahoo!7 Local.
> Get started: http://local.yahoo.com.au
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Link mailing list
> Link at mailman.anu.edu.au
> http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
>

-- 
Rachel Polanskis                 Kingswood, Greater Western Sydney, Australia
grove at zeta.org.au                http://www.zeta.org.au/~grove/grove.html
    "The perversity of the Universe tends towards a maximum." - Finagle's Law