Two areas in the MS <> SUN dispute to address

There are two areas that quickly come to mind that need to be addressed in the Microsoft SUN dispute.

The first, I have mentioned in an earlier article, Opening the API in a similar fashion to the protocols.
The second, which is by far the most relevant, is the validity of many software patents. There is a striking parallel between recent patent suites and “frivolous law suites. The warning signs were many, and many warning flags were raised., So while patent office ignored the problem, a new field of contention was sown, that is now ripe for harvesting by the lawyers.

After the law suites became the “preferred” method of solving many issues in the US, society at large, it seems the software industry giants adopted the same strategy, and not surprisingly the results are similar. So a wave of frivolous patent suites has taken shape.

Hopefully in the area of business cooler head may reign and a more scientific, dare I say rational approach may prevail.

While the patent office does not have the resources to adjudicate the technical arguments it does have the legal grounds to solve this crisis.

Luckily the patent law includes reference to “social value” which should provide the means to invalidate the most blatantly frivolous patent cases.