Microsoft Loses South Korea Patent Ruling

mikesd81 writes "Ars Technica is carrying an article discussing Microsoft's denial for an appeal in a South Korean patent infringement case. The case focused on the automatic translation between English and Korean in Microsoft Office and was brought against the company in 2000. The Supreme Court of South Korea ruled that the patents are effective for technologies switching the input mode between Korean and English." From the article: "Technology firm P&IB, which sued Microsoft on behalf of Professor Lee, wants Microsoft to ante up to the tune of W70 billion ($75 million) in a separate lawsuit covering damages. 'Microsoft adapted our technologies to its Office package without dealing with Prof. Lee and it claimed the patents were not effective in the court,' P&IB President Kim Kil-hae told The Korea Times."

Comments

Input mode switching

[Taagehornet]

Are they going to ban Java as well?

http://java.sun.com/javase/technologies/core/basic /intl/faq.jsp#imf

Re:busted! from TFA, maybe can't sell office

[LaughingCoder]

that's how you stop a monopoly: block it from selling a monopoly product.

Brilliant! My mother used to refer to this strategy as "cutting off your nose to spite your face". Just imagine back in the days of the railroad barons - all right, nobody can ride trains anymore. Back to horses-and-buggies for you so we can teach that nasty monopoly a lesson they won't soon forget.

Re:busted! from TFA, maybe can't sell office

[SCHecklerX]

Just don't allow *their* cars to run on the rails while letting others.

Re:South Korea is isolating itself

[njen]

South Koreans do not blindly support the actions of the leaders in North Korea, they only hope that their countrymen are able to survive the current state of their leaders oppresive control long enough to see freedom. The South Koreans see North Korea as brothers and sisters that will one day find them reunited with each other. Why is it so bad to hope for reunification? Your comments are flamebait as I have never seen any South Korean in support for what the likes of Kim Jong Il has done.

And what if Microsoft did infirnge on patented technology? Then they must pay the price of that infringement.

(no, I am not Korean)

Re:South Korea is isolating itself

[burnin1965]

This latest backdoor attack on the "American hegemony" is nothing to be shocked by

I can't say I know much about Korean politics but they seem to be a close ally with the United States even if they don't always see eye to eye with US policies. But to assume that Microsoft's loss in a patent lawsuit is somehow a backdoor attack is ludicrous. If the guy has a patent and Microsoft violated it then they should respect his ip as they claim they do and pay him.

On the other hand this seems more like the sad state of affairs in software patents coming back to bite one of the big software corporations that fail to work in a positive way to fix the system because in most cases it works to their benefit by stamping out competition.

Software patents should be trashed for two reasons, 1) software is covered by copyright not patents, and 2) software patents violate the patent rules because by their nature software patents end up as patents on ideas or abstracts instead of an actual working process and that is why we have people and corporations winning these idiotic software patent lawsuits.

This has less to do with Korean politics and more to do with the ongoing stupidity of software patents.

burnin