The taskbar patent may only be violated by copying _every_ detail listed in the description, since prior art exists for every detail mentioned, but not all in the same product. CDE, the Warp dock, HP's taskbar, Finder, fvwm pager all have some of the features listed, but not each and every one. All of these products were prior art to the Win95 taskbar. There is then of course the question of the patent validity in general. It would probably fall under attack, but one would have to attack it first, and MS can afford decent lawyers. -- Dominic Amann, <http://www.interlog.com/~damann/> Linux Based Solutions Ltd., 18 Candlewood Cr, Toronto, ON M3J 1G8 Tel: (416) 638-8649 Fax: (416) 630-1584
Attachment:
smime.p7s
Description: S/MIME Cryptographic Signature