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---every time a court settlement identifies and validates an item
of IP, that item becomes close to unassailable and a cost for any
company trying to compete---

I guess what confuses me here is that so many of these
settlements are made out of court. They're made between the
companies to put an end to the legal proceedings. They're not
based on any actual court decision, as the trial is not allowed to
run to completion once the settlement is agreed upon.

So do the settlements actually set any sort of legal precedent?
For example, MS licenses IP from SCO. It may turn out that SCO
doesn't actually own anything, and the license is without value.
Just because MS reached an out of court agreement with SCO
doesn't automatically make their IP worth what MS paid for it.

Private business deals don't necessarily "validate" IP, nor give it a
price tag, at least in the eyes of the legal system.

If this were MS' actual strategy, they'd be better served by letting
the trials go to completion, then paying the (possibly higher)
price tag. They can afford it, and it would give them the
validation you think they are seeking.
Posted by: tic swayback   Posted on: 04/15/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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you better have a room full  V Sanders | 04/15/04
The Price of Poker  StorageGuru | 04/15/04
The joy of IP.  Anton Philidor | 04/15/04
Question  tic swayback | 04/15/04
Contracts v. settlements  Anton Philidor | 04/15/04
Mixed bag  tic swayback | 04/15/04
Linus T. and I have been saying the same thing.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
Great minds think alike  tic swayback | 04/15/04
Aw, come on tic...  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
Some buttons just beg to be pushed  tic swayback | 04/15/04
Not at all  Patrick Jones | 04/15/04
EULA  voska | 04/15/04
Why doesn't Linus T. agree with you then?  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
Well?????  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
Geez Bit, calm down, don't be so impatient  tic swayback | 04/15/04
Wow, tic, how can you be so wrong so often.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
Sorry Ax, you are mistaken once again  tic swayback | 04/15/04
No Ax, it's been 5 minutes and you haven't replied yet!  tic swayback | 04/15/04
tic... No-Axe/Bit is paid by the post  MacCanuck | 04/16/04
No one even wants to try? Sad indeed...  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/16/04
Add one more ChaChing to that cheque for No-Axe happy  MacCanuck | 04/16/04
Isn't that how it's always been?  voska | 04/15/04
That isn't the tactic  StorageGuru | 04/15/04
Really depends...  voska | 04/15/04
Not at all.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
Installed, but not for long  tic swayback | 04/15/04
Buzzzttt... Wrong again.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
Then explain this:  tic swayback | 04/15/04
What?  FreeBSD | 04/16/04
protect customers???  mabricen | 04/15/04
protect customers???  mabricen | 04/15/04
Is MS admitting guilt?  bjbrock | 04/15/04
it's not all black and white  rock06r | 04/15/04
You have MS confused with...  Da-Man | 04/15/04
No, tell me it isn't true!  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
History lesson for you.  Yen_z | 04/15/04
Gee, your history doesn't jive with what I lived through.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
Nonsense  Yen_z | 04/15/04
Let me guess, your under age 40.  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
Not quite right  voska | 04/15/04
IBM was thwarted by the price of memory  StorageGuru | 04/15/04
Interesting, Storageman  voska | 04/15/04
Your history lesson is incorrect  marksashton | 04/15/04
You can't tell kids anything...  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
Reply to both you and Axe's post above.  Yen_z | 04/15/04
I remember the tricks MS made with DOS  voska | 04/15/04
As an aside  tic swayback | 04/15/04
Yeah? Well I had a Commodore 64  marksashton | 04/15/04
Reply for Mark  voska | 04/15/04
What has MS got to do with IBM?  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
You know, you are right and it was the DOJ...  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/15/04
Sure buddy..  FreeBSD | 04/16/04
Story says it all with Cisco vs. MicroSteal example  oldskool | 04/15/04
Reply for Voska  marksashton | 04/15/04
Here, have fun...  Yen_z | 04/15/04
Reply to Ax, Marksashton and tic swayback  Yen_z | 04/15/04
Thanks  tic swayback | 04/16/04
Boy, Ax is really whining again . . . Over a dozen posts.  Plain Logic | 04/15/04
Axe must be well over 10,000 posts by now  jellyclock | 04/16/04
Rough estimates are now over 20,000 posts  B.O.F.H. | 04/16/04
200,000 and counting. Deal with it...  No_Ax_to_Grind | 04/16/04
Rock on brother!  tic swayback | 04/16/04
simply amazing...  B.O.F.H. | 04/16/04
Sort of  tic swayback | 04/16/04
I see it clearly now...  John Zern | 07/02/05

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