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**hernkingAnank** · 08-13-2009, 01:43 AM

'breakthrough' is a ridiculous way to put this. MS has been talking about migrating Office formats to XML formats since 1998 (when MS' much more specific patent for this was granted). This company approached MS "several years ago" (ie, after it's already been developed) with a "breakthrough" and no doubt a demand for hundreds of millions of dollars, which was...of course...spurned.

It's the patent troll MO.

Which shows how ridiculous US patent laws have become. Our congress is so damn corrupt that any industry lobby with cash can write their own legislation and have it passed as long as they buy off enough Congressmen with "campaign donations" Donations which legally politicians can personally pocket in a dozen ways after a few years (a favorite is to declare they're not running or don't need the fund so they "donate it to chartiy"; usually a charity they set up and staff with only themselves and family members then give 99.9% of the "charity money" to themselves as salaries).

Just look at how absurd the laws protecting pharmaceutical companies has become. The patent protection period (which prevents generics competing) has nearly doubled in length plus if the company can claim a "new innovation" then this overly long period can be extended over and over again. That sounds ok until you realize the FDA now excepts changes in pill dosage as "a new innovation" as well as just mixing the pill with one of dozens of standard buffers (none of which are new in any way) and suddenly the company can get years more patent protection out of a drug. Obviously this harms consumers and doesn't spur any sort of new new innovation. Yet the lobbyists write the bills themselves and the corrupt Congressmen pass them without reading them as long as the lobbyists keep paying them to do it.

08-13-2009, 01:43 AM	#6
hernkingAnank Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 393 Senior Member	'breakthrough' is a ridiculous way to put this. MS has been talking about migrating Office formats to XML formats since 1998 (when MS' much more specific patent for this was granted). This company approached MS "several years ago" (ie, after it's already been developed) with a "breakthrough" and no doubt a demand for hundreds of millions of dollars, which was...of course...spurned. It's the patent troll MO. Which shows how ridiculous US patent laws have become. Our congress is so damn corrupt that any industry lobby with cash can write their own legislation and have it passed as long as they buy off enough Congressmen with "campaign donations" Donations which legally politicians can personally pocket in a dozen ways after a few years (a favorite is to declare they're not running or don't need the fund so they "donate it to chartiy"; usually a charity they set up and staff with only themselves and family members then give 99.9% of the "charity money" to themselves as salaries). Just look at how absurd the laws protecting pharmaceutical companies has become. The patent protection period (which prevents generics competing) has nearly doubled in length plus if the company can claim a "new innovation" then this overly long period can be extended over and over again. That sounds ok until you realize the FDA now excepts changes in pill dosage as "a new innovation" as well as just mixing the pill with one of dozens of standard buffers (none of which are new in any way) and suddenly the company can get years more patent protection out of a drug. Obviously this harms consumers and doesn't spur any sort of new new innovation. Yet the lobbyists write the bills themselves and the corrupt Congressmen pass them without reading them as long as the lobbyists keep paying them to do it.
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