P5-133XL
02-22-2007, 07:29 AM
I'm finding this to be totally ironic coming from M$, Since I note how much effort M$ has gone through trying to protect its own source code:
The US Supreme Court debates the patentabillity of software in Microsoft vs. AT&T (http://www.betanews.com/article/Supreme_Court_Debates_Patentability_of_Software/1172097039#talkback). from www.betanews.com
A seemingly simple case regarding whether Microsoft had the right to replicate speech recognition software it had licensed -- or rather, thought it had licensed -- from AT&T, and then sell that software abroad as a component of Windows Vista, has exploded into what is now extremely likely to become a landmark case in US patent and copyright law.
The US Supreme Court today took up oral arguments in Microsoft's appeal of a judgment against it in AT&T v. Microsoft, which has now become Microsoft v. AT&T in view of the appeal."
AT&T contends that the duplication of that software outside of US boundaries, with the intent to sell the duplicates overseas, is a violation of that license. That view was upheld by the Federal Court of Appeals, and Microsoft is appealing that decision.
Microsoft attorney Theodore Olson, attacked AT&T's position with a novel argument that you might not expect to hear from Microsoft: In short, you can't patent source code or object code. For foreign replication to work, a golden disk is shipped abroad to the replication service, containing the master of the Vista operating system that includes AT&T's drivers. It's not software at that point, Olson says, because no one can execute it. When it's installed onto a hard drive, then it becomes software, and it's the end customer who does that.
The US Supreme Court debates the patentabillity of software in Microsoft vs. AT&T (http://www.betanews.com/article/Supreme_Court_Debates_Patentability_of_Software/1172097039#talkback). from www.betanews.com
A seemingly simple case regarding whether Microsoft had the right to replicate speech recognition software it had licensed -- or rather, thought it had licensed -- from AT&T, and then sell that software abroad as a component of Windows Vista, has exploded into what is now extremely likely to become a landmark case in US patent and copyright law.
The US Supreme Court today took up oral arguments in Microsoft's appeal of a judgment against it in AT&T v. Microsoft, which has now become Microsoft v. AT&T in view of the appeal."
AT&T contends that the duplication of that software outside of US boundaries, with the intent to sell the duplicates overseas, is a violation of that license. That view was upheld by the Federal Court of Appeals, and Microsoft is appealing that decision.
Microsoft attorney Theodore Olson, attacked AT&T's position with a novel argument that you might not expect to hear from Microsoft: In short, you can't patent source code or object code. For foreign replication to work, a golden disk is shipped abroad to the replication service, containing the master of the Vista operating system that includes AT&T's drivers. It's not software at that point, Olson says, because no one can execute it. When it's installed onto a hard drive, then it becomes software, and it's the end customer who does that.