Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

microsoft burn

Score one for Microsoft. The U.S. Patent and Trade Office rejected Apple’s patent application for its iPod software interface last month because Microsoft had filed a similar claim five months before Apple did. Apple plans to appeal the decision. (Bloomberg News: “Apple Fails in Patenting IPod Technology” - 08/12/05)

A quote in the story from a Microsoft executive just gets under my skin and makes me angry. And if it makes me angry, I can only wonder how much it’s probably unnerved folks at Apple:

“Our policy is to allow others to license our patents so they can use our innovative methods in their products,” David Kaefer, director of intellectual property licensing and business development at Microsoft, said in a statement.

I think it’s the “our innovative methods” that irritates me so much.

That’s not to say that Microsoft owns the patent on Apple’s clickwheel-operated interface. The Register points out that the competing Microsoft patent filing was rejected as well (but that decision also can be appealed). Apple Insider has a little more detail about the patent application process and how it worked in this instance.

(The Register link found via Slashdot.)