Recently, in the blog Software patents continue to suck, by and large, I was basically criticizing a granted patent that was entirely based on prior art but was being used, and contrasted with a genuine patent that successfully withstood challenge yet was never going to be used (by us, at least!).
Now everyone is different; for example, I could never have gone through the IsNot patent and everyone has a different breaking point.
I respect those differences, and how much respect I have for others in this regard is often related to how much respect they have for others in this type of situation.
In any case...
Today, I got a surprise in my office.
It came in a black box.
That black box was surrounded by a gold-hued bow.
The plaque commemorating this prior art debacle.
It was the patent that made me never want to patent any software again.
Even if it was patentable.
Like the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator (you may know it as MSKLC).
I believe we could have gotten 3-5 patents from it.
And furthermore I could possibly get 4 more on upcoming planned enhancements, whether we do them or not.
To be more accurate, whether *I*do it or not.
Because there has never been any developer who has shipped a version of MSKLC other than me (a dev/test/PM team owned MSKLC in Ireland for a few years, but they never shipped anything and any changes they made were stopped by Customs when MSKLC came back to the USA!).
But I am done with software patents!