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Microsoft Is Sued For Patent Violation Over .NET
randomErr writes "As reported by Info World, Microsoft was issued a cease and desist order on February 7 of this year by Vertical Computer Systems. The order was for patent infringement by the current implementations of the .NET framework. Both the .NET framework and Vertical Computer Systems' SiteFlash use XML to create component-based structures that are used to build and operate web sites. Vertical Computer Systems is requesting a full jury trial. If VCS prevails, .NET technology implementations as we know them may completely change and Microsoft would probably have to pay out a hefty sum."
Couldn't happen to a better company.
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
You never know when the vendor will be whacked with a patent or copyright infringement suit.
.Net 4.0, you have to upgrade (buy) 4.0 to insure you are not in patent or copyright infringement. 4.0 is *not* compatible with 1.x, 2.x, or 3.x". I think which ever way the case goes, MS wins due to this.
They then will be forced upon losing to make changes to the software which could leave you with the rug pulled out from under you.
Open source software is much superior in this regard since:
1)It is transparent and open for review, making identification of potential problems easier.
2)The OS community is much more, IMO, sensitive to *not* changing the interfaces in the software (just the implementation) than propretary vendors. So if changes do occur they are less likely to be painful for the users. Just link in the new libraries and go.
3)There is less money in it. If MS didn't have a bazillion dollars, they would not be getting sued. And in conjuction with point 2 above, I think that this suit could drive gratuitous changes in API which could be used to drive more sales. They could just say "You can't use anything prior to
Anyway, proprietary software is inherently *very* risky.
putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
He's an American, Not only does he think you have to use his dialect, but you've simply confused him by suggesting that there are places outside America. :-)