Summary: How Microsoft pushes for changes in the law, having willfully broken the same laws that it is lobbying to change

MICROSOFT currently faces over 50 lawsuits for patent violations. One such lawsuit has just ended and Microsoft escapes safely.

Microsoft's Tellme Networks unit won a patent-infringement lawsuit brought by Nuance Communications over speech-recognition software used in telephone systems. Nuance's patent for a way to eliminate problems associated with background noise and poor audio quality is invalid because it didn't cover a new

invention, U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson in Wilmington, Del., said in an April 20 decision. The case had been scheduled for a May 3 trial. Instead, the judge closed the case in Microsoft's favor. The dispute was over Tellme software sold to AT&T and Verizon Communications for their directory assistance services.

It is worth adding that Tellme's head quit Microsoft about a year ago. What actually interests us a lot more are the utter lies and spin (Microsoft's crocodile tears [1, 2]) that are being spread by Microsoft Portugal at the moment. In order to promote its political agenda, Microsoft claims about 40% in 'piracy' rate (wrong word to use because it's propaganda). This comes from the same company which is dumping Windows (free of charge even) in order to block GNU/Linux adoption. See for example the following stories from Portugal:

• Magalhães + Microsoft = Corruption
• Silverlight/Microsoft Required for Public Procurement in Portugal
• Open Letter to the Portuguese Ministry of Education
• Microsoft's Magalhães Laptops Scam and OOXML Scandals in Portugal Associated with Fraud?
• Microsoft CEO Might Try to Shoot Down Portugal's Open Standards Bill
• The Games Microsoft Plays in Portugal to Fight Free Software
• Eye on Microsoft: Portugal Visit, Regrets, and Vista Lies
• Portugal Stands Up Against Microsoft Corruption
• Government of Portugal Ignores Procurement Rules and Gives Taxpayers' Money to Microsoft
• Russia Continues Migration to GNU/Linux in Government, Microsoft Creates New Prevention Measures
• Jose Socrates Caves to His Friend Bill Gates and Gives up Portugal's Digital Sovereignty
• Microsoft Already Uses IDC Study it Paid for to Further Digitally Colonise India and Portugal

Microsoft drones like Assoft (not a good name in English) are currently batting for Microsoft Portugal and helping this government's push with the creation of a court for "intellectual property" (also a propaganda term). Based on a rough translation, Assoft says that "this is an old dream that has always been cherished." Does the alignment with Microsoft's new 'piracy' propaganda have anything to do with this? And by "intellectual property" do they mean copyrights or patents (or both)? Either way, Microsoft's mischievous behaviour in Europe carries on and Portugal is no exception; it's actually a strategic place for Microsoft, for reasons we named before. ⬆