NY Times: Microsoft’s Trial Dominated Legal Scene in 1999

“The Microsoft Wars, disputes over the right to hyperlink, panic
about children’s access to pornography on the Internet. Looking
back, which of 1999’s events and issues involving technology and
the law stand out for sheer long-term significance? Cyber Law
Journal asked some experts for their thoughts on what were the two
or three most important or interesting cyberlaw developments of the
past year. Here are excerpts from some of their clear-eyed
answers….”

“The attention Wall Street has been giving to Linux all year is
ironic — as well as having been unpredicted by everyone else —
but it demonstrates that the software business will never be the
same again, now that everyone has admitted that the best software
things in life are free. The licensing structure of the general
public license, which frees everyone to create knowing that
everyone can use everyone else’s improvements, is the legal
structure of software’s future….“

“Internet Patents. As expected, some of the first patents on
Internet technology and Web sites that were filed at the commercial
birth of the Internet several years ago were issued this year and
were quickly asserted, including cases against Microsoft by
Priceline.com for infringement of its name-your-own-price patent,
against Barnes & Noble by Amazon.com…and against Ask Jeeves
by two MIT professors…. All smart e-commerce parties are now very
concerned about protecting their potentially patentable Internet
ideas, as well as building defensive patent portfolios for
potential attacks by competitors.”

[ Free Site Registration Required. lt-ed. ]

Complete Story