| Microsoft Announces a Patent on the term FUD |
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| Friday, 18 May 2007 | |
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Microsoft has announced that they’ll be suing open-source companies and bloggers for patent infringement—on 235 patents related to the term FUD.
Microsoft has made its broadest challenge to date against free speech, claiming that FUD and related phrases violate Microsoft patents and saying it will seek license fees. The world's largest software maker said these various spoken phrases infringe patents it holds in areas related to scaring computer users. Only it is allowed to spread FUD. "The real question is not whether there exist substantial patent infringement issues, but what to do about them," Horacio Gutierrez, Microsoft vice president of intellectual property and licensing, said in a statement. Microsoft sent the statement to reporters via email, detailing a stance that it disclosed in an article that appeared in Fortune Magazine. On case mentioned by the spokesman was the inclusion of FUD in the Oxford English Dictionary, which is the most popular type of dictionary, or book that people can open and quote so as long as they share those words with the public. The dictionaries, which are often available for free use, have gained in popularity over the past decade, sometimes including words that Microsoft used regularly. FUD can now be found in the Oxford Dictionary, Merriam-Webster and even Wikipedia. All are thought to be amongst Microsoft's first legal targets with forum users and bloggers being identified and placed on a list for future legal action. Gutierrez said that "Fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) is a sales or marketing strategy of disseminating negative and mostly incorrect information on a competitor's product. We have being using that tactic to fight open source software for years, falsely claiming that it is amateurish, unreliable and dangerous for use in large companies. FUD is a key part of Microsoft's business and we intend it to remain that way for many years to come." Comments (3)
  written by John M. Coonen, March 26, 2008
I don't think Microsoft will win such a battle, however, I do agree that the brand EMBODIES the term 100%.
- Every time I boot up my PC, I feel a sense of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, wondering whether the FUDking thing will reach a welcome screen. - Every time I leave my computer on over night, I feel Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt as to whether an unannounced MS update will shut down and obliterate important work I've got unsaved. - Every new computer I purchase that's NOT a Mac, causes me heart palpitations, causing Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt as to whether the Operating System will keep my employees from getting to ACTUAL work, not work, FUDking with the settings for 6-8 hours until they're literally running out of the FUDcking office, wondering why they took up this line of work. FUDk MicroWAFT. Write comment
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The Microsoft DerivativeFUD is known as DUD to avoid confusion.