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March 08, 2004
MICROSOFT LOOSENS UP [from InfoWorld]
MICROSOFT LOOSENS UP
[from InfoWorld]
Microsoft loosening contracts for PC makers. Microsoft's infamous "non-assert patent clause" that has been a fundamental part of its OEM Windows software contracts is set to be removed in contracts renewing in August, 2004.
"The clause acts as a big disincentive for OEMs to innovate", according to Thomas Vinje, an outspoken critic of Microsoft and a partner in the Brussels office of the law firm Clifford Chance LLP, whose clients include Dell and Fujitsu. "For example, if IBM patented a method for speeding up the operations of a computer, the company would not be able to enforce that patent in order to prevent Microsoft or any other competing hardware manufacturer from using the technology."
The Microsoft non-assert clause has been of interest, recently, to the EU and Japanese investigators.
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Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 09:51 PM.
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