Microsoft and the European Commission will clash in court over innovation and intellectual property rights when the software giant appeals against a 2004 anti-trust decision, according to court papers seen by Reuters. Microsoft wants to turn around the Commission's decision that it abused the dominance of its Windows system to muscle out rivals who did not have enough detail of the operating system to create efficient software that could run with it. Europe's top antitrust authority ordered the company to share information -- so called protocols -- so that other software makers could compete.
In a one-week hearing at the European Union's second-highest court starting on April 24, Microsoft will argue that rivals were always able to make interoperable software and the Commission's demands threaten Microsoft's intellectual property rights. Microsoft will essentially argue that it should not have to give away its intellectual property, having spent effort and money inventing it, only because it became successful. "Microsoft relies on the fact that its communication protocols are technologically innovative and are covered by intellectual property rights," the document said. "Microsoft had designed its Windows server operating systems from the outset to interoperate with non-Microsoft server operating systems," it added.
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News source: CRN
In a one-week hearing at the European Union's second-highest court starting on April 24, Microsoft will argue that rivals were always able to make interoperable software and the Commission's demands threaten Microsoft's intellectual property rights. Microsoft will essentially argue that it should not have to give away its intellectual property, having spent effort and money inventing it, only because it became successful. "Microsoft relies on the fact that its communication protocols are technologically innovative and are covered by intellectual property rights," the document said. "Microsoft had designed its Windows server operating systems from the outset to interoperate with non-Microsoft server operating systems," it added.
View: The full story News source: CRN
I definitely agree w/Mark in that we probably won't ever hear the end of this.
-Spenser
"If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of today's ideas were invented, and had taken out patents, the industry would be at a complete standstill today." ~ May 16, 1991 Memo
It's not whether or not another company "wants to compete", it's whether or not they are even being allowed to enter the market place due to business practices (if we are talking MS, it is defiantly not product) of competitors. I'm not one for heavy gov't regulation of markets, but remember that competition stirs innovation and efficiency (do you think there would be a new IE w/o Firefox?). That is a win-win for the consumer and business.
Last edited by lbmouse on 11 Apr 2006 - 19:18
This isn't about "secret recipes" (source code). It is about "protocols", which would be more like the roads that are travelled. So, this makes your comparison more like:Should communications protocols between computers be "trade secrets" or "patented IP" that others cannot know or use?
This is the part that has always bugged me about the EU punishments.
I don't know what a good alternative would be... but maybe the EU should compensate Microsoft for its initial efforts so as to free up the technology and IP for use by other companies? Obviously that's a dumb idea, but i think most of you will know what i'm saying.
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