Dell and HP Back Microsoft in Word Lawsuit

News
By Jane McEntegart
published

Dell and HP are supporting Microsoft's effort to have the Word injunction overturned.

When Microsoft last week filed an emergency motion against the injunction that would prevent the company from selling Word in the United States, it cited irreparable harm and claimed it would never be able to recoup the funds expended in redesigning and redistributing Word. However the company also made another argument: think of our retail partners! Microsoft said that folks like HP, Best Buy and Dell would "face the imminent possibility of a massive disruption in their sales."

It seems as though HP and Dell are particularly worried as PC Mag reports that the latter has filed an amicus curiae brief asking the judge overseeing the case to reconsider.

Penned by Dell's lawyers and joined by HP, PC Mag cites the brief as saying the injunction would have an impact "far beyond Microsoft," and asked that the injunction be delayed by 120 days. While information considered confidential was left out of the public record (including the how the injunction would affect Dell) Dell did say that shipping a revised version of Word would mean changing Dell's images.

"Making such a change would require extensive time- and resource- consuming testing," Dell said according to the brief.

Read the full story here.

Jane McEntegart
36 Comments Comment from the forums
  • hennnry
    Patent law in USA is screwed... period. It worked in my favor, but it is still screwed.

    Instead of encouraging discovery, advancing science, it serves to damage everyone except a selected few. Screwed, screwed, screwed.
    Reply
  • salsoolo
    ^thats the core problem of modern world.
    Reply
  • Shadow703793
    hennnryPatent law in USA is screwed... period. It worked in my favor, but it is still screwed.Instead of encouraging discovery, advancing science, it serves to damage everyone except a selected few. Screwed, screwed, screwed.Agreed! +10000
    Reply
  • zerapio
    (including the how the injunction would effect Dell)
    effect -> affect

    The injunction affects Dell therefore causing an effect.
    Reply
  • Major7up
    Would not bother me at all, why don't they just switch to Open Office? ;)
    Reply
  • the associate
    That's right, i'm going to invest in a company who's sole purpose is to create programing techniques, technologies and so on, patent them, never make any use of these new innovations, and never let anyone else use them either.

    I'd estimate this stupid planet is at LEAST a few hundred years behind in scientific/technological/psychological evolution/progression because of garbaged brained mentalities such as this.

    end of rant -.-
    Reply
  • LORD_ORION
    So what, if you are a big corporation with deep pockets you are above the law? Even if you abuse the same scenario and laws in different situations when it's in you favor?

    Cough up the dough... injunctions are meant to force wrong doers into complaince.
    Reply
  • r0x0r
    the associateThat's right, i'm going to invest in a company who's sole purpose is to create programing techniques, technologies and so on, patent them, never make any use of these new innovations, and never let anyone else use them either.I'd estimate this stupid planet is at LEAST a few hundred years behind in scientific/technological/psychological evolution/progression because of garbaged brained mentalities such as this.end of rant -.-
    I often think to myself "If aliens were watching us right now, what would they think?" (I know; I probably think too much) :)

    The only thing keeping us from being exterminated by aliens is that the human race is too pathetic to bother with lol :D
    Reply
  • geoffs
    I called this one last Saturday. See "option 4" on my post on the following article.

    http://www.dailytech.com/Article.aspx?newsid=16037
    Reply
  • JohnnyLucky
    As near as I can tell the U.S. patent process is completely screwy. You don't have to build anything or make anything to obtain a patent. The U.S. Patent Office issued a patent for a Star Trek type transporter even though the transporter does not exist. Hmmmm....I wonder if there might be one at Area 54.
    Reply