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Re: DEPLOY: Microsoft Royalty Free Sender ID Patent License

2004-08-24 13:47:08

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Hallam-Baker, Phillip wrote:

| SNIP
|
| Again, read the license, it is very clear that it covers the
| intersection between any patent claims owned by or granted to
| Microsoft and those needed to implement Sender-ID.


Well, I have read it, and it is not clear to me at all.
There's that stickly little piece of language in
there; "Patent claims owned by or granted to Microsft", that
are not enumerated.

All the standard IANAL caveats, but I do know how to read, and I know
something about sentence structure. There are vague
areas in this license. Further, there are assurances about what actions
will be, or not be taken that are not spelled out exactly.

In short, it's a contract I wouldn't sign without knowing
exactly what kind of entity I was dealing with. In this particular
case, I say let the legal history be a guide.

Now that patents seem to almost never expire, and corporations
and are at least in theory immortal, a license such as
this could morph into almost anything, give the time, money
and legal talent.

No thanks.

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