Microsoft Retracts Patent

An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft has retracted their recent controversial patent application. The story was first brought to light by Slashdot on Saturday. Today, Jane Prey of Microsoft announced the retraction on the SIGCSE (Special Interest in Computer Science Education) mailing list. 'Many thanks to the members of the community that brought this to my attention — and here's the latest. The patent application was a mistake and one that should not have happened. To fix this, Microsoft will be removing the patent application. Our sincere apologies to Michael Kölling and the BlueJ community.'"

Comments

Re:Um...what did Slashdot have to do with it?

[jimbojw]

The story was first brought to light by Slashdot on Saturday.

Um...what did Slashdot have to do with it? It looks like this fellow started complaining on Friday: http://www.bluej.org/mrt/?p=21

Obi-Wan: "The article that I'm looking for should be right ..." (points at screen) "here."
Librarian: "If an article is not on Slashdot, then it does not exist." (Turns abruptly and walks away)

Re:Moral is complicated

[Frosty Piss]

My cynical reaction: The patent application would not have been pulled except for the written admission on the part of a Microsoft developer that the feature was copied from BlueJ.

A week or so from now, a headless body will turn up floating in Lake Washington off Madina.

Re:Moral is complicated

[Speare]

I have to say, with all the legal loops that you have to hop to work with corporate lawyers just to get a patent to the submission stage, that this is not just a simple mistake.

In other words, I definitely heard "And I would've gotten away with it, if it weren't for these meddling kids!" running through my head. Zoinks!

Prior art detected

[Ravear]

(A)ssimilate? (Y/Y)

Re:Moral is complicated

[joe slacker]

Only for the autopsy to reveal decapitation by a flying chair