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Start-up Granted Injunction Against Microsoft

Posted by samzenpus on from the That-isn't-yours dept.

AustinSlacker writes " A San Jose, CA start-up, Alacritech Inc, was granted a preliminary injunction against Microsoft in a patent infringement lawsuit involving several patents related to Microsoft's implementation of "Chimney" TCP offload architecture."

3 of 247 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Watch out Microsoft by dnixon112 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We are against software patents. The reason this is a good thing is simple. Big companies have a lot of lobbying power with the government. The more big companies, like Microsoft, are getting screwed over by bullshit software patents (instead of just using them to screw others over) the more likely they will push for patent reform. If big companies, not just some open source junkies, are using their lobbying power to change software patents then it will be a lot easier to get the system changed.

  2. SOP for M$ by jwave · · Score: 5, Insightful
    OK, at the risk of clobbering my newly grown karma, allow me to point out that this is a shining example of how Microsoft has grown to become the great behemoth it is.

    Below, find three sequential elements from the timeline in TFA.

    • 09/98 - Alacritech meets with Microsoft and describes patent-pending Dynamic TCP Offload architecture in detail under a non-disclosure agreement
    • 04/99 - At Microsoft's request, Alacritech delivers detailed architecture document for integrating Alacritech SLIC Technology into Windows
    • 06/99 - Microsoft ceases further communications with Alacritech and subsequently proceeds to use Alacritech SLIC Technology without a license

    How many articles have we seen here on /. that duplicates this pattern? Who else has been stepped on by the giant in such manner? I'm sure somebody could find a fist-full of articles here in history that shows exactly that behavior pattern.

    Am I correct in recalling that Novell got stung? IBM? I know those are giants themselves. I'm just glad to see that a little David has been able to sling his stone bullet into the face of the Goliath. Now, let's see if they can make it really count.

    I'm not asking to shut down Microsoft. Just have them play fair.

    Is that too much to ask, Bill?

    (Bill: "Why, yes. It is.")

    - - -
    When you say that you agree to a thing in principle, you mean that you have not the slightest intention of carrying it out in practice. -- Otto Von Bismarck
    (this sig stolen from /.)

  3. Re:Watch out Microsoft by wardk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As dubious as it sounds, it can also be a matter of, after looking at it indetail, they discovered that there was nothing special about it.

    This certainly could be the case.

    I know they were so unimpressed with Stac's disk compression technology, that they quickly wrote their own from scratch in a clean room. wait, maybe that was Sybase SQL Server. No, that's not it.

    maybe the risk losing a suit in the end is cheaper than either paying legit royalties or investing the R&D to roll your own. I think maybe MS has so much money, they are willing to take these sorts of risks, it's only money...that stuff falls from the sky for them.