RE: Help: Microsoft patent covers package download
On Tue, 02 May 2000, you wrote:
> 5. Other stuff I'm sure we can come up with... any real practicing patent
> attorneys out there?
As a matter of fact, yes. I'm a member of the Texas Bar (active
status) and a registered patent attorney (Registration No. 36,765).
Along with Texas and the PTO, I've been admitted to practice before
the Southern District of Texas (5th Circuit) and the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
I've got nine years of experience and specialize in software patents.
Note, I'm predominantly a patent prosecutor, not a litigator.
However, I have written dozens of infringement opinions and am
currently involved in a patent litigation case for one of my
clients.
At first blush, I'd say there is no literal infringement after
hearing how Debian handles it. (No, this does NOT consitute an
opinion of counsel) However, you can't rule out infringement until
competent counsel reviews the file history and can gauge the scope of
the claims. Speaking of which, has anyone pulled the file wrapper
from the PTO? We may not need to go to that trouble if M$ just sits
on the patent. Has M$ threatened anyone? The patent issued last
October. They've had at least six months to do something. If they
had planned to do something with it, they would likely have filed a
Petition to Make Special, which would be in the file wrapper. If
they haven't, then we may have nothing to worry about (at least for
now). M$ gets a lot of patents. They may well have simply added
this one to the (large) pile and forgot about it.
Don't panic folks.
Ronald L. Chichester
Frohwitter
Intellectual Property Counselors
Three Riverway, Suite 500
Houston, Texas 77056
713-621-0703 (voice)
713-622-1624 (facsimile)
chichester@harlan.frohwitter.com
http://www.frohwitter.com
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