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EU Throws out Microsoft's Vista Font Trademark

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the stirred-up-a-hornets-nest dept.

vitaly.friedman writes "Microsoft has lost another round at the EU though this time it has nothing to do with the antitrust case. This time the dispute is over fonts; specifically Segoe, one of the typefaces Microsoft wants to use in Vista. Microsoft filed its "registered community design" for the font back in January of 2004, paid the required fee, and everything was great until December." A copy of the decision is also available.

4 of 82 comments (clear)

  1. Quick! by MS_Word · · Score: 3, Funny

    Someone patent losing court cases!

    1. Re:Quick! by 50m31sl4sh. · · Score: 3, Funny
      Someone patent losing court cases!
      Whoever dares to do so risks putting himself into infinite loop.
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      Rediculous is ridiculous!
  2. Woo-hoo! by Java+Ape · · Score: 5, Funny
    It takes some serious chutzpah to steal a font outright and then try to get legal protection of "your" work. And they'd have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddeling judges. Microsoft's arguments were pathetic -- they've obviously gotten used to bought-and-paid-for system in the U.S. (*SIGH*).

    Next week I think I'll register a few new fonts:

    • Messenger: Looks a lot like Courier
    • Verbatim: Somewhat resembles Verdana
    • Times Ripoff: Amazing similar to Times New Roman

    You know, font development isn't easy -- it's much harder than it first appears to build a font that is attractive, easily readable, and infinitely scalable. Using Microsoft's new font-development technique, even a yutz like me can produce attractive fonts in minutes. Maybe Microsoft should patent the technique of "stealing from others" -- they've used it enough they might be able to get trademark protection on it as well.

  3. Re:So . . . by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sure you can! Just so long as you don't hang it too near near my masterpiece sculpture of "Thinking Guy," not to be confused with Rodin's "The Thinker, which has much shorter sideburns.

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