Re: Re: Pseudo-Patent-Free Microsoft Standard

[Jozef Halbersztadt <halber@idea.net.pl>]

Bernard Lang wrote:

> The data below seems more important to me, because it shows a
> systematic attack based on interoperability, using existing hold on
> the market to extend to new areas. Very precisely what anti-trust
> regulation forbids.

Going back to CIFS specification, "IPR Impairing License" and 2 MS
patents.
After a check I think that MS hasn't applied for any of two patents in
Europe. But there is a third one, in my opinion less broad.
Nevetheless it can be used as a similar weapon.

US 5,261,051 A1               November 9, 1993
Method and system for open file caching in a networked computer system 
What is claimed is: 
1. A method of executing multiple batch file commands from a remote
terminal, comprising the steps of: 
(a) caching a batch file having the multiple batch file commands from
a file server to the remote terminal;
(b) opening the batch file within the remote terminal when no other
remote terminal has opened or requested to open the batch file; and 
(c) locally processing any number of the multiple batch file commands
within the remote terminal without closing or deleting the batch file
within the remote terminal so long as no other terminal has opened or
requested to open the file.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of (d)
closing and deleting the batch file within the remote terminal after a
predetermined time has expired since the batch file has been requested
to be closed by the application program.

It has European equivalent EP 0438571. In fact it quite different, and
it was granted after a long delay. European claims are very much
different as American ones.

EP 0438571 B1                  30.09.1998
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OPEN FILE CATCHING IN A NETWORKED COMPUTER
SYSTEM
Claims
1. A method of locally catching data of a file at a remote terminal,
the file being stored at the file server, comprising the steps of:
when the remote terminal initially requests to open the file,
requesting that the file server open the file;
and
retrieving data from the file server to the remote terminal;
updating the retrieved data at the remote terminal without updating
data of the file at the file server;
when the remote terminal request to close the opened file and when no
other remote terminal has requested the file server to open the file,
maintaining the retrieved data of the file at the remote terminal
without requesting the file server to close the file and without
sending the updated file to the server;
when the remote terminal requests to re-open the closed file and when
no other remote terminal has requested the file server to open the
file since the remote terminal requested to close the opened file,
using the maintained data without requesting the file server to open
the file and without retrieving the data of the file from the file
server
whereby so long as no other remote terminal has requested the file
server to open the file all requests by the remote terminal to close
and then open the file after the initial request to the file server to
open the file are handled locally at the remote terminal even though
the retrieved data may have been updated at the remote terminal.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the file is a batch file with
multiple commands and the remote terminal locally processes the
commands so long as no other remote terminal had requests to open the
file.
3. The method of claim 3 wherein before locally processing a command,
the remote terminal requests to close the opened file and after
processing the command, the remote terminal requests to re-open the
file.

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Jozef Halbersztadt