Microsoft wins patent case in Germany
Microsoft came out victorious in a patent dispute in Germany. The dispute involved a Microsoft’s patent concerning the way long file names are stored on FAT systems. In 2006 Microsoft won a similar dispute in the U.S. Just because an international company wins a patent case in the U.S. doesn’t mean that it will prevail overseas. However Microsoft pulled off a win on the appeals level after losing the case on the lower court level.
According to Ars Technica Microsoft’s patent was challenged in Germany and the lower court found that it lacked the “element of invention”. Many patent laws require more than just a business method in order to be patentable. Patents usually have three elements that must be met in order to be upheld. They have to be novel (an original invention), non-obvious, and useful.
The Microsoft patent was challenged primarily on the grounds that the Microsoft patent wasn’t novel. That the 1991 Rock Ridge Interchange Protocol had previously solved the same problem that Microsoft was trying to patent. The Rock Ridge Interchange Protocol allowed longer file names to be used on “ISO 9660 volume format, commonly used on CDROM and DVD media.”
The appeals court found that Microsoft’s patent actually covered a different mechanism that allowed the backwards compatibility of long file names on FAT systems. The court found that the technical differences were significant enough that Microsoft won the case.
OK, so patent cases are boring and why should we care? Well, Microsoft’s win may make a variety of electronic devices more expensive because manufacturers will have to pay Microsoft licensing fee. The devices that are affected are everything from your cellphones, cameras, memory cards and possibly even anything that runs on a Linux platform.
This case is especially note worthy since Microsoft has not fared well in European Courts on anti-trust matters. As it is, Microsoft is offering a browser ballot to European purchasers of its Windows OS.
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