p2pnet - rss feed: Is Microsoft after RSS?
p2pnet.net News:- Are Bill and the Boyz making an underhanded play for RSS?
In 2005 they filed for two patents covering web syndication technology not at all dissimilar to RSS (Really Simple Syndication), but kept the applications secret, and this was, “just days before the company announced RSS support for IE7,”says Monkey Bites.
But the details were only recently released to the public.
“Today I received a link to a patent granted to Microsoft, where they claim to have invented all this stuff,” says Dave Winer who, says the Wikipedia, “created or was a lead contributor to several of the most popular XML dialects and APIs related to web publishing: RSS 2.0, XML-RPC, OPML, and the MetaWeblog.” API.
“Presumably they’re eventually going to charge us to use it. This should be denounced by everyone who has contributed anything to the success of RSS.
But, “Of course we have no way of knowing how Microsoft intends to use these patents if they are awarded them,” observes Monkey Bites.
“They could represent a defensive move, but they could be offensive as well - Winer may end up being correct. It would be nice to see Microsoft release some information on what they plan to do with these patents, but for now we’ll just have to wait and see whether the US Patent and Trademark Office grants them.”
But, posts lead Microsoft program manager Sean Lyndersay on the Microsoft team RSS blog, “First, these patents describe specific ways to improve the RSS end-user and developer experience (which we believe are valuable and innovative contributions) - they do not constitute a claim that Microsoft invented RSS.”
He continues:
We have always fully acknowledged the innovators and supporters of RSS, like Dave Winer, Nick Bradbury and many others, and I can say, without hesitation, that I and my colleagues personally have the deepest respect for their invaluable contributions.
From the beginning we have sought an open and reasonable relationship with the RSS community. As one example, we have published various RSS and Atom extensions under a Creative Commons license. These specifications provide proof of our commitment to offer our contributions to the community and evidence of our efforts to advance the technology. We honestly hope that our work brings benefit to all feed publishers, developers and users, and we’ve been happy with the response we have received from the community so far.
Finally, as a number of commenters have noted, we are far from the only company to apply for patent protection in this space. Other companies, including Apple and Google, have apparently also applied for patents. Applying for a patent on your innovation is common industry practice, and one which, by incenting and protecting the companies and people involved, encourages everyone to contribute to the community.
I hope this helps put our position in perspective. I want to reiterate that my team and I are fully committed to RSS and feed syndication technologies in general and to the community.
Meanwhile, Microsoft’s applications were filed June 21, 2005, and posted online last week by the US Patent and Trademark Office, says TechWeb, adding:
“The Trademark Office regularly posts patents 18 months after they are filed. The postings are available online as U.S. Patent Application 20060288011 and 20060288329.
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Also See:
Monkey Bite - Microsoft Tries To Patent RSS, December 22, 2006
Dave Winer - A tale of corporate atrocity, December 21, 2006
RSS blog - Patent Applications in the RSS space, December 23, 2006
TechWeb - Microsoft Defends RSS Patent Applications, December 26, 2006
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