08.05.10
Microsoft Front Group Association for Competitive Technology is Still Deceiving US Government Regarding Patents
Summary: ACT goes to the United States Congress to lobby for Microsoft, under the disguise of supposedly representing small businesses
“ACT [is] promoting software patents in US Congress,” explained the FFII’s president who found this new post from Microsoft’s front group the Association for Competitive Technology. In this post which brags about “Storm[ing] the House!” it says:
On patents, Congressman Luetkemeyer referenced a constituent of his who said ‘filing a patent lets your competitors see what you are doing, and then they just tweak it to work around, so why bother?’ [ACT's] Peter noted that this is the heart of the patent system; it drives innovation forward because by teaching others how you do things, they come up with ways to jump ahead. In exchange for sharing the secret of how my invention works, I get a time restricted monopoly on my design. I share so that I can get (temporary) exclusivity. But this delicate balance is being thrown out of whack by a patent system that takes far too long between publishing and granting. During that nearly 2 year gap of time the patent filer can do next to nothing to protect his idea.
As we showed in the previous post, Microsoft needs those patents to extort its competitors/rivals. █
“Petitioning again, they said Judge Penfield Jackson’s decision to appoint a “special master” was not appropriate and that the company would challenge it. On December 23 Microsoft did just that and filed a motion to remove Lawrence Lessig from the case. [...] In trying to get rid of Lessig, Microsoft argued the law, but they also argued bias.”
–Barbarians Led by Bill Gates, a book composed
by the daughter of Microsoft’s PR mogul
