Threads sewn up

[Andy Oram <andyo@ora.com>]

Sheesh, it's a good thing Microsoft is on the front line here -- they'll
probably succeed in proving that this patent on multithreading is bullwinkle.

I think I'll patent the process of describing simple activities in broad
terms and suing people who perform them -- then all future Reiffins will
have to pay royalties to me.

Andy

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http://www.wired.com/news/news/business/story/10251.html

                     Inventor Stakes Claim to MS Fortunes
                     by Randolph Court 

                     5:00am  12.Feb.98.PST
                     Imagine you could collect a licensing fee on
                     virtually every piece of software Microsoft sells.
                     Even if it were only pennies per app, you’d be
                     rolling in it. That’s what Martin Gardiner Reiffin
                     figures - and why he’s taking Redmond to court. 

                     Reiffin filed a suit in a US District Court in San
                     Jose last month alleging that Microsoft has
                     infringed on his patents covering a process called
                     preemptive multithreading. Reiffin charges that his
                     patented process is being used in a long list of
                     software products, including Microsoft Office,
                     Windows 95, the not-yet-released Windows 98,
                     Windows NT Server and Workstation, Internet
                     Explorer, Word, Excel, and others - essentially
                     the company’s entire product line. 

...