[KLUG Members] .Net patent could stifle standards effort

[Adam Tauno Williams]

>http://news.com.com/2100-1001-984052.html?tag=lh
>Microsoft is in the process of applying for a wide-ranging patent that
>covers a variety of functions related to its .Net initiative. 
>If approved as is, the patent would cover application programming
>interfaces (APIs) that allow actions related to accessing the network,
>handling Extensible Markup Language (XML), and managing data from
>multiple sources. APIs are the hooks in software that allow applications
>to work with another system. 

It will be interesting to watch http://www.go-mono.org to see if they give any
kind of response to this.  So far it hasn't been mentioned on the mailling list
(at least not that I noticed).

>Microsoft declined to elaborate on its plans for the patent, but
>intellectual property attorneys said that if it's granted, the company
>could dictate how, or whether, developers of software and devices can
>link to the .Net initiative. 

They have made several statements in the past about welcoming other
implementations, etc...  How binding those are I don't know, but they would make
getting sticky about the patent into REALLY bad PR.  Not something I think they
want more of currently

>Any chance we could get the Pres to station some troops off the coast of
>Washington state?

Nah, they made campaign contributions, they can sleep easy.

>P.S.  Dear government listing person, I AM JUST KIDDING!!

If there is a government minder here, he is probably sound asleep.  No better
time to tell you about the nuclear warhead I've got out back in the shed...