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Message-ID: <058701c09875$1977efa0$f40237d1@MIACFERNANDEZ>
From: "Carlos Fernandez Sanz" <cfernandez@myalert.com>
To: "James Sutherland" <jas88@cam.ac.uk>,
        "David D.W. Downey" <pgpkeys@hislinuxbox.com>
Cc: "Rik van Riel" <riel@conectiva.com.br>, "Alan Olsen" <alan@clueserver.org>,
        "Mark Haney" <mhaney@info4cars.com>, <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SOL.4.21.0102162015490.28748-100000@orange.csi.cam.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: Linux stifles innovation...
Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2001 19:03:45 -0500
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I did some research on the patent database and found nothing regarding such
a patent. There's patent on word processors (not the concept but related to)
and uses tab on the description...and that patent is from 1980.

----- Original Message -----
From: "James Sutherland" <jas88@cam.ac.uk>
To: "David D.W. Downey" <pgpkeys@hislinuxbox.com>
Cc: "Rik van Riel" <riel@conectiva.com.br>; "Alan Olsen"
<alan@clueserver.org>; "Mark Haney" <mhaney@info4cars.com>;
<linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2001 15:18
Subject: RE: Linux stifles innovation...


> On Fri, 16 Feb 2001, David D.W. Downey wrote:
>
> > Would someone tell me where you get all this lovely information on
> > patents held by M$? I can't find anything.
>
> Sorry, it's *IBM* who are said to hold a patent on the tab key.
>
> Legend has it Microsoft once found a patent of theirs which IBM appeared
> to have infringed, and were very excited at the possibility of something
> to hold over IBM, so their lawyers met IBM's lawyers. The MS lawyers
> beamed "look at our patent you've infringed!" IBM's lawyers replied "look
> at this pile of our patents YOU'VE infringed... let's start with this
> one. A Tab key." MS suddenly realised they were outlawyered...
>
> No idea how accurate it is, but just the thought of MS's lawyers getting a
> nasty shock like that has a certain appeal :-)
>
>
> James.
>
> -
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