Re: TomTom to contest Microsoft patent lawsuit ..

[Doug Mentohl]

amicus_curious wrote:

> > > Yes.  I said "if Tom-Tom were found to be infringing...".  Could they avoid 
> > > paying by getting all their customers to download new, non-infringing firmware?  NO is 
> > > the answer.

> > No one can be sued for distributing 'non-infringing firmware', your statement 
> > is legalistic nonsense ..

> I think you have the bull by the wrong horn here.  The issue is not whether the 
> suit would continue if the software were noninfringing, but rather that it is 
> not reasonably possible to create the non-infringing firmware.

You brought up the 'non-infringing firmware' issue and you are right it 
is yet more distraction waffle from you.

> The patent is on what the firmware does, not on how it is written ..

The firmware is written in GPL code, as such MS has no property rights 
on it.

> And there is the ancillary issue of how TomTom could ensure that all 
their customers had done so.

There you go again fuddie, introducing a distortion again. Tom Tom are 
not required to police downstream recipients of the Tom Tom GPL code.

Secondly have to suppliers of the third party code, got patent rights to 
their own code and what are their names.