The Microsoft SLAPP Dossiers
Related: Why We'll Continue Covering EPO Abuses (Other Patent Offices as Well, as the Need Arises) for Many Years to Come | Techrights Will Spend the Next Few Years Writing a Lot About Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
For many years the Microsofters have attempted to censor this site. As did others, but Microsoft is unique. It never pays off. Ask the EPO.
Microsoft does it pretty much every year. In all sorts of ways and more times than we can recall and/or keep track/count of. Lawyers won't succeed any more than prior efforts - they'll just cost more and cause major embarrassment. That's exactly what has been happening so far. The image above is from the Tchaikovsky Medley, so it is actual humour from the brilliant Spike Jones, whose real name was Lindley Armstrong. He died a decade before Microsoft even existed. He joked that he wished Russia (or the Soviets) had invented this; well, Microsoft sure adopted this design. Shooting one's own foot... or face.
By now we're sure they have come to realise this, as did their lawyer and junior barrister. But they cannot bail out or break away. It's too complicated now. They tried many times and we turned them down.
See, the Microsofters don't care about simple facts; instead of trying to win arguments or correct alleged falsehoods they just strive to completely silence or deplatform the other side, even by potentially unlawful means. We currently have many hundreds of pages like the ones below.
Drafted in (or with) Free software, but mostly Kate. It's massive and it grows longer over time.
Ultimately the goal will be transparency and full accountability, including for Microsoft's Serial Strangler and the Serial Defamer.
Many law firms and NGOs are watching what's happening and they commented on what had been done to us. Journalists told us we must write about it so as to make sure the public is properly informed - to the extent permissible given there are ongoing processes.
Last year we saw that the same law firm that works for the Microsofters had not only picked on the wrong person. The exposer of this, who got SLAPPed repeatedly, eventually got vindicated [1, 2]. That's how it should be. It's even the same lawyer who SLAPPed him (he did the same several times to me and to my wife; he now appears to be leaving, but not before throwing redundant insults our way). Abusive litigation and SLAPPs are in their genes. I already got targeted by "Trump lawyers", so some tiny boutique firm in London throwing everything it can at people - even family members! - won't deter or censor us. A rather likely outcome is, they'll lose their licence to operate. We look forward to this. Such 'karmatic' moment would send an important message to other media lawyers in the UK. █