Patent case challenges Microsoft's 'AutoPlay'
Found on CNet News on Wednesday, 13 October 2004
A federal judge ruled against Microsoft on Wednesday in a patent suit challenging "AutoPlay" technology included in recent versions of Microsoft Windows.
Judge Jeffrey White of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied three Microsoft motions for summary judgment in a suit filed by TV Interactive Data (TVI), a small Monte Sereno, Calif., company specializing in interactive television technology.
Each motion sought to invalidate TVI patents cited in the case, on grounds of prior art and other causes. White ruled Microsoft offered insufficient evidence against the patents, and the case should go to trial as scheduled.
I think it is kind of funny how MS tries to fight against patents using prior art claims. Especially since they patent all sorts of things which have been used for years before on other systems.