Microsoft $358m patent violation damages tossed Microsoft has successfully dodged a court ruling that would have sent hundreds of millions of Redmond dollars to long-running litigant Alcatel-Lucent. An appeal overturned a $358m award to the telecoms equipment company, after Microsoft was found to have infringed on an Alcatel patent in Outlook. Judges heading the appeal …
I'll be the first to bash Microsoft, but this is really a case of one of those patents that should never have been granted in the first place:
"Outlook's calendaring function infringed on the patent in the way it displays a month's calendar as a grid and then translates the date into an appointment date form"
Another ridiculous software patent that makes a mockery of the system. "Displays the month as a grid, then turns the date into an appointment form". This is a standard calendar which has been around for centuries mixed with standard drilldown characteristics - hardly novel!
I am, in principal, in favour of software patents if they are truly an invention. An implementation of an algorithm that is radically different may be patentable, but showing the date as a grid ... come on.
The number if lunatic decisions in the patent system means all software patents should be thrown out and a new system where there is some proof of innovation is required should be implemented. this new protection should allow only a few years of protection.
"The case claimed Outlook's calendaring function infringed on the patent in the way it displays a month's calendar as a grid and then translates the date into an appointment date form."
What a crock. Yes they got the patent, yes MS violated it. But a patent that stupid and obvious should never have been granted in the first place.
"The case claimed Outlook's calendaring function infringed on the patent in the way it displays a month's calendar as a grid and then translates the date into an appointment date form."
And that would make every calendar in the world an infringement, ESPECIALLY those large paper desktop blotter/calendars that you can write your appointment date in the square that represents the day in question.
And what the heck is "an appointment date form"? All appointments have a date and time associated with them... how the heck can anyone patent that?
"The case claimed Outlook's calendaring function infringed on the patent in the way it displays a month's calendar as a grid and then translates the date into an appointment date form."
There you have it. Right there above look. That is the reason why the US patent system should be put to sleep.
Its a fucking calendar!!!!!!!! Theye been doing it for centuries on paper, printing a small one and then a large one for the day next to it. I saw one from the 1840's this weekend. Any0one who thinks that is worth 6 million USD, let alone 350 million odd USD needs summarily shooting. When is enough enough?
I'd have though the patent on displaying a calendar as a grid belonged to someone like Letts, or Filofax, or whoever first came up with the idea, I've been using calendars for 40 years that display months, even years as grids.
How on earth did Alcatel get granted a patent for that, it's just obvious. If you can do it on paper, then you can do it in a GUI.
... it seems that there are loads of patents for things that are either obvious, subject to loads of prior art or so vague as to be meaningless (and I think this patent fits into all of those categories) which according to the rules should never have been granted.
The patents system is a complete and utter mess and needs to be revisited urgently. I have an interest in kites as power sources for boats and ships and looking at some of the patents that have been granted over the last few years in that area will show you what a joke the whole patent system has become.
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