There are two recently filled US patents by Microsoft claiming they have invented RSS and Web-based RSS readers !! The first one about Finding and consuming web subscriptions in a web browser, and the second titled Content syndication platform. Another Patent spam, but this time by Microsoft, and I don’t know if this is going to stop one day.
This patent concern all web-based RSS applications including Technorati, Google, Yahoo, Bloglines and thousands of others. I don’t know if there is a legal way to sue someone who claim inventing the work of someone else, because in my opinion this can be called “stealing someone else invention”.
Who created RSS ? Go back to 1999, Dan Libby from Netscape Communications posted the specifications of RSS 0.91 revision 3. It’s not something new, everybody knew that Netscape was behind the RSS format. It’s something obvious.
So for what does RSS have been created ? to be used by Microsoft ? If the RSS itself have been created for content syndication, does the fact of implementing an application using this format mean that you have invented the way to use feeds ?
And I don’t agree that defending against patents troll is a good reason for filling such patents, as explained Don Dodge said in defense “Microsoft is not pretending that they invented RSS”. But the patents are filled, it’s not about pretending anymore, it’s a public claim now.
In the same time don’t blame Microsoft for filling these patents, but I blame the patenting system which became a tool for lawyers to play with it. “Poker chips in a high stakes game of legal lunacy” as said Don.
For more information :
- RSS 0.91specifications revision 3
- Patent 1 : Finding and consuming web subscriptions in a web browser
- Patent 2 : Content syndication platform
- Don Dodge : Patent lunacy defense
