The paper also notes that Korean software companies do not worry much about patents. That may result from the widespread pirating.
Against Monopoly
defending the right to innovate
Monopoly corrupts. Absolute monopoly corrupts absolutely.
Copyright Notice: We don't think much of copyright, so you can do what you want with the content on this blog. Of course we are hungry for publicity, so we would be pleased if you avoided plagiarism and gave us credit for what we have written. We encourage you not to impose copyright restrictions on your "derivative" works, but we won't try to stop you. For the legally or statist minded, you can consider yourself subject to a Creative Commons Attribution License.
Microsoft patent fencing in Korea
A Korean newspaper is carrying a story about Microsoft, asserting that it is using patents to keep out competitors (link here).
It has filed a rising number, starting from 6 in 2000 to 591 in 2005, for a cumulative total of more than 1000. The article notes that MS tried in the past to close a Korean competitor of MS Office by investing $20 million if it stopped writing programs in Korean characters. Local fund raising saved the program with a nationalist public campaign. One of the paper's sources is quoted as saying it is a worldwide drive by MS, not just confined to Korea.
[Posted at 10/26/2006 09:05 AM by John Bennett on Against Monopoly 
comments(0)]
Comments
Submit Comment
Most Recent Comments
IP is not a joke Bill:
Absolutely. Parody and satire are protected under fair use. Mad Magazine (among many
at 02/09/2010 05:41 AM by Anonymous
IP is not a joke Couldn't it be used under the fair use
at 02/08/2010 03:22 PM by Bill Stepp
Goldman does in AIG, you, and me Predatory Lending is a major contributor to the economic turmoil we are currently
at 02/08/2010 03:07 PM by jmb27
Common Sense Seth - I'm not sure how your comment @ 5:57pm casts any illumination on your earlier position. If I
at 02/08/2010 02:03 PM by Justin Levine
Lessig: Congress is broken and Obama has failed Anon, state granted monopolies are effectively licenses for corporations to collect taxes on
at 02/08/2010 01:50 PM by Crosbie Fitch
Lessig: Congress is broken and Obama has failed It does seem strange to me that when we are faced with the possibility of a 23 trillion dollar
at 02/08/2010 01:18 PM by Anonymous
The Patent, Copyright, Trademark, and Trade Secret Horror Files Fred, I recognise that 'natural monopoly' may have a more specialised meaning for economists, and
at 02/08/2010 07:19 AM by Crosbie Fitch
Lessig: Congress is broken and Obama has failed Fred, I'm doing something immediately. I'm working on the Contingency Market. this is something
at 02/08/2010 06:53 AM by Crosbie Fitch
The Patent, Copyright, Trademark, and Trade Secret Horror Files @Crosbie: I agree *natural monopolies* do exist, despite any tendency for SK and Bill Stepp to shut
at 02/07/2010 10:21 PM by Fred McTaker
Lessig: Congress is broken and Obama has failed I thank John Bennett for this post, and for the quality of his posts here in general. I've been
at 02/07/2010 09:02 PM by Fred McTaker