4 ms·

Microsoft buys Netscape patents from AOL as part of $1 billion deal

44 points by yahelc 15y ago

signalsignal 15y ago
Here comes the leviathan. I don't know what effect this will eventually have on Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, but I'm certain it will be good.
- tesseractive 15y ago
  I doubt they're coming after Chrome and Firefox. Given that they've never sued Linux directly (only companies that sell products with Linux bundled -- e.g. Tom Tom), they don't seem to have any interest in going after free software (or just freeware in general) directly. More likely, this is to strengthen their case in the mobile patent wars, given that every smartphone comes with a bundled browser. In particular, they have an ongoing dispute with Motorola.
  - bergie 15y ago
    This is the more cunning way. Something like Linux would be hard to sue, and people would be faster to notice and cry foul. By picking your targets carefully you can efficiently make the whole industry scared to use an 'undesired' technology. Expect more of this, especially in mobile.
    - tesseractive 15y ago
      It's not just about scaring people away from technologies. Microsoft's Android patent licensing is a multi-billion dollar business in its own right.
loverobots 15y ago
Microsoft is already loaded with patents, my guess is that want to cover their bases even more and probably go after Google (Motorola forced them to move out of Germany)
SeoxyS 15y ago
It kind of blows my mind that patents can possibly be worth north of a millon dollars apiece. How is this possible? How does it make economic sense, especially the idea of buying 800 bundled together instead of picking and choosing the ones which actually have value. I get that they win litigation, but is even the loss of a lawsuit more costly than the amount spent on purchasing the patents? The most costly lawsuit loss I can recall was Microsoft's antitrust loss, which cost it 9 figures. But even so, that's a case where patents would not have helped. And if it costs more to buy the patents than they recoup with when they win, or do not lose, the suits, how does it make economic sense to buy them? Then again, maybe they're considering it an investment in their ongoing campaign to extort the android ecosystem.
- Retric 15y ago
  Try 1.67 BILLION for a single patent. The jury’s verdict allowed $1.17 billion in lost profits and $504 million in royalties. http://www.hgexperts.com/article.asp?id=6726 http://www.hgexperts.com/article.asp?id=6726
ollerac 15y ago
I bet the first line of the deal was: "Don't fuck with us anymore please."
TazeTSchnitzel 15y ago
So now they will be suing Mozilla?
- gcp 15y ago
  The Netscape Public License included a patent grant. So that's probably not possible. They might sue anybody not based off Netscape code, though...
billybob 15y ago
Two snarky comments are fighting in my head. Comment 1: "Microsoft's buying patents for a long-defunct browser demonstrates once again that these are solely legal weapons, not bits of useful knowledge to help make products." Comment 2: "I don't know, maybe IE is just that far behind."

44 points by yahelc 15y ago

Here comes the leviathan. I don't know what effect this will eventually have on Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, but I'm certain it will be good.

tesseractive 15y ago
I doubt they're coming after Chrome and Firefox. Given that they've never sued Linux directly (only companies that sell products with Linux bundled -- e.g. Tom Tom), they don't seem to have any interest in going after free software (or just freeware in general) directly. More likely, this is to strengthen their case in the mobile patent wars, given that every smartphone comes with a bundled browser. In particular, they have an ongoing dispute with Motorola.
- bergie 15y ago
  This is the more cunning way. Something like Linux would be hard to sue, and people would be faster to notice and cry foul. By picking your targets carefully you can efficiently make the whole industry scared to use an 'undesired' technology. Expect more of this, especially in mobile.
  - tesseractive 15y ago
    It's not just about scaring people away from technologies. Microsoft's Android patent licensing is a multi-billion dollar business in its own right.

loverobots 15y ago

Microsoft is already loaded with patents, my guess is that want to cover their bases even more and probably go after Google (Motorola forced them to move out of Germany)

SeoxyS 15y ago

It kind of blows my mind that patents can possibly be worth north of a millon dollars apiece. How is this possible? How does it make economic sense, especially the idea of buying 800 bundled together instead of picking and choosing the ones which actually have value. I get that they win litigation, but is even the loss of a lawsuit more costly than the amount spent on purchasing the patents? The most costly lawsuit loss I can recall was Microsoft's antitrust loss, which cost it 9 figures. But even so, that's a case where patents would not have helped. And if it costs more to buy the patents than they recoup with when they win, or do not lose, the suits, how does it make economic sense to buy them? Then again, maybe they're considering it an investment in their ongoing campaign to extort the android ecosystem.

Retric 15y ago
Try 1.67 BILLION for a single patent. The jury’s verdict allowed $1.17 billion in lost profits and $504 million in royalties. http://www.hgexperts.com/article.asp?id=6726 http://www.hgexperts.com/article.asp?id=6726

ollerac 15y ago

I bet the first line of the deal was: "Don't fuck with us anymore please."

TazeTSchnitzel 15y ago

So now they will be suing Mozilla?

gcp 15y ago
The Netscape Public License included a patent grant. So that's probably not possible. They might sue anybody not based off Netscape code, though...

billybob 15y ago

Two snarky comments are fighting in my head. Comment 1: "Microsoft's buying patents for a long-defunct browser demonstrates once again that these are solely legal weapons, not bits of useful knowledge to help make products." Comment 2: "I don't know, maybe IE is just that far behind."