Jonathon, I found your note interesting, but must take exception to one point:
jonathon wrote:
Remember, both individuals, and a SOHO business has _nothing_ to lose by going to a jury trial. Microsoft has everything to lose, if they get into a jury trial regarding its patents.
Microsoft may have much to lose by going to a jury trial against a SOHO, but that won't prevent the lawsuits, or the threat of the same. The SOHO has more to lose: its existence.
See, a common tactic in civil suits is to simply outlast the opposition. When you have deep pockets and your opponent does not, you can feel fairly confident that your opponent will run out of money defending itself before the case ever reaches a jury. The SOHO, which simply cannot raise the funds to provide an adequate defense, will either agree to an out-of-court settlement admitting guilt, or will eventually declare bankruptcy ... and either way, Microsoft wins.
Granted, it paints Microsoft as the bad guy, going after the SOHO, but for them it is a winnable situation, versus one where they go after another major player. Given that, I cannot rule out Microsoft targeting selected SOHOs, just to make a point. After all, they do that routinely, already, through their participation in the SPA anti-piracy raids.
-- Alan Frayer [EMAIL PROTECTED] Vote for your favorite news story at http://yourworldnews.frayernet.com Classified Ad space available --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
