Microsoft Sues Motorola Over Mapping Patents 57
jfruh writes "The mobile patent wars continue, with two of the world's biggest tech companies about to blunder into direct conflict. Microsoft holds a number of patents that it claims give it rights over mobile map applications that overlay data from multiple databases (map info from one database and store location info from another, for instance). Many Android vendors already pay Redmond licensing fees for their mapping apps; now Redmond is going to court in Germany to sue one of the holdouts: Motorola Mobility, which is of course owned by Google."
Pretty Much How It Happened (Score:5, Funny)
> map applications that overlay data from multiple databases
Sounds blatantly obvious to someone skilled in the art...
Microsoft Engineer 1: Jesus, dude look at this, look at this idea I had! ... ... what if -- and stay with me here -- what if we pulled map data from two different databases. ... what you're talking about would require something like ... ... no, wait, even then we've only got one database connection in the code. That's it, from there you're stuck, you'd have to send both the prepared statements to the database ... unless ... wait, hold the phone ... unless you had ...
Microsoft Engineer 2: I don't get it, what am I looking at here, this C# code is light years beyond my comprehension.
Microsoft Engineer 1: I know, right? But here, let me step you through it. You remember how we were pulling data from one database and displaying it?
Microsoft Engineer 2: Yeah, that itself is, like, on par with the gods
Microsoft Engineer 1: Right right but it got me to thinking
Microsoft Engineer 2: No way dude, that's impossible. Look, we use one prepared statement here to get the data
Microsoft Engineer 1: Two prepared statements?
Microsoft Engineer 2: Oh. My. God. It could work
Microsoft Engineer 1: Two database connections?
Microsoft Engineer 2: *starts shaking his hands in the air excitedly* Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, this is going to be a game changer. We better tell Ballmer -- quick, get the patent officers on the phone, this is fuckin' huge!