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Microsoft Wins Summary Judgement in Smart Tag Case
dan2bit writes "Business Week reports that a judge in Wisconsin handed down a summary judgement today in favor of Microsoft, defending itself from a patent infringement suit brought by small fish Hyperphrase over the embedding of 'Smart Tags' in Microsoft Office. The suit also produced some amusing minutiae."
The machine just was set off by a few minutes.... yeah that's it. :)
It is very nice for the courts to be oh-so-forgiving of MS...
Karma whorin' since 1999
I'm sure that Microsoft will blame the delay on Unix Mailservers, while at the same time promote Exchange.
Pursuant to the modified scheduling order, the parties in this case had until June 25, 2003 to file summary judgment motions. Any electronic document may be e-filed until midnight on the due date. In a scandalous affront to this court's deadlines, Microsoft did not file its summary judgment motion until 12:04:27 a.m. on June 26, 2003, with some supporting documents trickling in as late as 1:11:15 a.m.
The message WAS actually sent June 23, but the exchange server was down until the 25th.
"Now that's...COMEDY."
--Slappy Squirrel
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
On a more on-topic ms note, I just saw an add on
We now have to pay to use a protocol? yuwah?
Heres ya' link to it: http://m3.doubleclick.net/790463/mrs03124_ha_728x
puts ("Python r0cks\n");
five minutes and twenty-seven seconds of my life wasted reading that stuff. I move to strike Hyperphrase's lawyers in the head for being so damn annoying.
Notice that the court listed the names of all the lawyers on the team that submitted that motion, so that any time someone does a lexus-type search for any one of those lawyers, that filing will come up, thus embarassing them for years to come. The court put some thought into that one.
From Hyperphrase's motion to strike the summary judgment motion as untimely: Counsel used bolded italics to make their point, a clear sign of grievous iniquity by one's foe. AT LEAST THEY DIDN'T COMPAIN IN ALL CAPS!!!!! THAT REALLY WOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE JUDGE'S ATTENTION!!!!
Give serendipity a chance.
It's nothing but crumpled porno and Ayn Rand.
Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake hailed the ruling. "As an intellectual property company, we are committed to respecting the intellectual property of others, but we also invest heavily in R&D and we will defend our intellectual property when necessary,"
She continued "We be payin props ta doz silly azz mofos intalectual propertiez, but they'ze disrespectin' ours. Whats up with that shiznat dogz?"
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If you don't stop reading this right now you owe me $1,000. Send check or money order too...
Maybe the judge should've used tags? I thought it was pretty funny, (maybe because I could imagine the opinion being read by one of John Cleese's characters.)
They used bold italics?!?! Screw diplomacy! This is a full-on war!
Judge Kent is bar far one of the funniest judges on the federal bench. I strongly comment a quick read of his opinion in this case, which concerned a motion drafted in crayon.
Groan...I'm switching majors. Or shooting myself.
Would you like to download PrecisionTime from the Gator Corporation?
[Yes] [OK] [Sure]
After this remarkably long walk on a short legal pier, having received no useful guidance whatever from either party, the Court has endeavored, primarily based upon its affection for both counsel, but also out of its own sense of morbid curiosity, to resolve what it perceived to be the legal issue presented. Despite the waste of perfectly good crayon seen in both parties' briefing (and the inexplicable odor of wet dog emanating from such) the Court believes it has satisfactorily resolved this matter. Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.
At this juncture, Plaintiff retains, albeit seemingly to his befuddlement and/or consternation, a maritime law cause of action versus his alleged Jones Act employer, Defendant Unity Marine Corporation, Inc. However, it is well known around these parts that Unity Marine's lawyer is equally likable and has been writing crisply in ink since the second grade. Some old-timers even spin yarns of an ability to type. The Court cannot speak to the veracity of such loose talk, but out of caution, the Court suggests that Plaintiff's lovable counsel had best upgrade to a nice shiny No. 2 pencil or at least sharpen what's left of the stubs of his crayons for what remains of this heart-stopping, spine-tingling action.
In either case, the Court cautions Plaintiff's counsel not to run with a sharpened writing utensil in hand -- he could put his eye out.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
Prior art? Maybe, but why admit to it? I mean, I undertsand that suing Microsoft could be worth a bundle to a small company. Still, the idea that Microsoft got ideas for Office features from you... I mean, is that something you really want people to know about?