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You Might Be a Microsoft Patent Infringer

Posted by timothy on from the the-easy-way dept.

theodp writes "Do you use drop-down menus, alphanumerical input boxes, check boxes, radio buttons or sliders to allow client side-processing of data? Utilize SQL, HTML, ActiveX, Java, Perl, JavaScript or JScript to do so? Employ arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, or decision trees to organize things? Well Bunky, you might be infringing on Microsoft's new patent for Dynamically adjusting data values and enforcing valid combinations of the data in response to remote user input, which the USPTO granted Tuesday after 6+ years and two rejections."

2 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Topic overrated, flamebait by Vaevictis666 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    from the patent application:

    What is claimed is:
    1. A method for dynamically displaying pricing data on a client display device...

    Note that that's a 1, meaning that's the patent request at its broadest. Once you get past the abstract, according to claim 1 there is required to be client-server communication, a price list, and rules for combining them.

    This patent would likely apply to a typical linux distro installation package manager (handling dependencies etc) that was (a) run online, (b) charged prices, and (c) did dependency checking on the form itself before submission.

    Hell, I doubt that even Linspire's Click'n'Run violates it...

  2. Because not everyone can afford to go to court? by brunes69 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If MS decided to send me, or anyone of millions of small companies, a letter saying "pay us 10,000 in royalties or we will sue you for 10 million in damages", guess what? I can't afford the patent attorney for the 8+ months of litigation, and I sure as hell can't afford the 10 million.

    The sad thing is that I should even need a patent attorney in this case - it should be so cut and deied that you could represent yourself! But alas, that is rarely so.