RSSMicrosoft Sues Belkin Over U2 Patents
By Ed Oswald | Published August 1, 2006, 5:00 PM
Microsoft sued peripheral manufacturer Belkin Tuesday, claiming the company infringed on patents surrounding a technology called U2. According to a complaint filed with the International Trade Commission, Belkin has been adding the technology that allows peripherals to automatically determine if they need a USB or PS/2 connection while refusing to enter into talks with the Redmond company.
U2 was first publicly released in March as part of a broader effort to make Microsoft innovations more widely available. Other manufacturers such as Targus and Fellowes have already licensed U2, and Microsoft says Belkin's actions unfairly hurt those companies. While Microsoft is seeking no financial compensation, it wants Belkin products with U2 included removed from the US market.
"While Microsoft is seeking no financial compensation, it wants Belkin products with U2 included removed from the US market."
ahh.. another expansion tactics of M$, by crippling [relatively] smaller companies...
Soon they would patent all the technologies and thereafter charge people for using PC's.
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|I'm guessing you posted this comment before reading the other comments--can't say I blame you for that. Still, based on your logic, if I create/invent a new technology, patent the idea, and then someone else copies my idea and sells it as their own, then I'd be bullying them if I tried to stop them from selling my invention without my permission.
So, you can just continue believing that protecting your own technology is the same as crippling smaller companies. Whatever.
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|There is no legitimate role for patents in software.
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|Microsoft dont want more money,, they want to eradicate ALL competition. this says it all in a nutshell
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|Eradicate ALL competition???
"Other manufacturers such as Targus and Fellowes have already licensed U2, and Microsoft says Belkin's actions unfairly hurt those companies."
They just want their inventions to not be stolen by another company when other companies are paying (like the law says) to use said invention.
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|Lol... Finally Microsoft suing someone ELSE.
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|What not sueing for hard cash!! this is not going to go over well with many lawyers..
Gates is very close to Bono.
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|I just bought a Belkin wireless card and have had no problems so far. Maybe I was one of the lucky ones...who knows.
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|I dislike Belkin. They make sub-par products. We have several of their UPS's here at work and they have all failed within 2 years of use, their support e-mail was unresponsive.
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|I wonder what the Irish rock band U2 thinks of their name being used like this?
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|Well--they can't sue over it if that's what you're thinking, as U2 is too short to be a patent infringement case I believe.
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|The band U2 took the name from the 60's U2 spy plane. So if anyone owns the name it's the CIA.
U2 (the band) Rocks!!! lol
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|Jamwheat?
Is that really you?
heh
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|Fewt-
Yep, really me. Got married, and now have a week & 1/2 year old son now. I really get *lots* of online time now, hehe!
Check out pics at jamwheat.com under the family link.
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|WB my friend, and congrats! I'll check it out.
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|"While Microsoft is seeking no financial compensation, it wants Belkin products with U2 included removed from the US market."
Funny that Microsoft understands the market better than the EU ever could...pull the products, not the money. Can't say MS is just being a bunch of greedy jerks on this one. Kudos to Microsoft for doing it the right way.
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|Cheaper Belkin products means more Belkin products sold and less products by companies that license the tech. from MS. Less products sold by those companies equals less license revenue for MS. So obviously it's still about their money, just indirectly.
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|Right. EU missed that concept--don't ask for a one-time fine of x amount of euros, stop the technology. IF EU really, truley thought WMP was a problem, they should have required MS remove it (which they sorta did). What they needed to do to force MS to comply was force them to pull all Windows versions off the shelves. This COULD happen, as EXISTING Windows systems would exist, and Microsoft's integrity would be hurt in the public view. Heck, my parents haven't even heard of all the EU fines against microsoft, but if MS Windows suddenly disappeared from the shelves, you can guarantee media coverage galore. Microsoft would have to fix it then, and they'd do it in a heartbeat.
Can you agree with me on this, fewt? If not, why specifically would this not have worked?
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|Daily fines of 2 Million Euros will make Microsoft want to comply too, don't you think?
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|If Windows was pulled from the shelves over a lawsuit and MS was not cooperating heads would roll in redmond.
;-)
That's it, I have become infamous heh.
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|C'mon, M$ makes that much in an hour :-)
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|I remember reading somewhere Microsoft set aside something like 5 or 6 billion in cash back in the 90s to handle anti-trust case payouts. With that much cash they could go on for years with that daily fine and do nothing and not have it hurt the bottom line.
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