Apple blunder gives Gates iPod royalty

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ari Ollikainen <Ari () OLTECO com>
Date: August 14, 2005 11:45:47 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] Apple blunder gives Gates iPod royalty


At 10:57 AM -0400 8/14/05, David Farber wrote:


> ...
> Apple blunder gives Gates iPod royalty
> By Katherine Griffiths in New York
> Published: 14 August 2005
>
> Apple Computer may be forced to pay royalties to Microsoft for  
> every  iPod it sells after it emerged that Bill Gates's software  
> giant beat  Steve Jobs' firm in the race to file a crucial patent  
> on technology  used in the popular portable music players. The  
> total bill could run  into hundreds of millions of dollars.
>
> Although Apple introduced the iPod in November 2001, it did not  
> file  a provisional patent application until July 2002, and a full   
> application was filed only in October that year.
>
> In the meantime, Microsoft submitted an application in May 2002 to   
> patent some key elements of music players, including song menu  
> software.

    [...]


> In July, the US Patent and Trademark Office rejected Apple's   
> application, saying some ideas were similar to an earlier  
> application  filed by a Microsoft employee, John Platt.

     Hmmm...how does M$ get a patent on elements of technology that
    already exists? Does "prior art" no longer count against a
    patent application?


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