[Am-info] Microsoft Releasing Records to Lindows

[John J. Urbaniak]

Hans Reiser wrote:

> This is a bad ruling.
>
> First, the ruling is not about whether there is infringement, and they
> make that clear.
>
> The ruling is about standards of proof of injury.
>
> What is particularly discomforting about this ruling is that it is not
> easy to come up with simple well-defined measurement of actual damages.
> Let us suppose that I came out with Ben & Gerry's ice cream, and I used
> fancy packages and cheap ice cream.  Suppose I stole 5% of the market
> from Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream in this way.  Suppose that some of the
> customers knew which was which and some got confused.  Suppose my ice
> cream was cheaper, so some customers actually preferred my product for
> that reason.  Could damage to Ben & Jerry's be "proven" in a manner that
> would meet the standards of the court?  Probably not, and especially not
> cheaply and easily.

I say, "let the buyer beware."

John