You do forget the details — that particular situation with what Microsoft called "Custom XML" was rather less absurd than you remember: http://milan.kupcevic.ne

You do forget the details — that particular situation with what Microsoft called "Custom XML" was rather less absurd than you remember: http://milan.kupcevic.net/custom-xml-microsoft-office-word-data-store-i4i-patent-5787449-msdn/ http://milan.kupcevic.net/custom-xml-microsoft-office-word-d... It's not at all about just using XML as a file format, but about being able to build your own private business extensions to a vendor's (Microsoft's) file format and ecosystem. It may be a software patent and have all the attendant problems, but it is at least an invention and not pure bullshit. Plus the plaintiff isn't in any way a patent troll — they were a real company with a shipping product that Microsoft was well aware of when they integrated "their" feature into Office. This case is to software patent reform as "Hot Coffee" is to tort reform — it's almost perfectly constructed to spark nerd rage when initially described, except that the facts of the matter are entirely opposite: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonalds_Restaurants http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonalds_Restaurant...