[...]
The Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) initiated a challenge of the of Microsoft's patent in June of this year, claiming that previously unseen prior art demonstrated that the patent should never have been granted. In addition, the Patent Office also found that some of the grounds for the original applicaiton were unpatentable. Microsoft has the opportunity to appeal the PTO's decision; however, it is not yet apparent whether they will choose to do so.
PUBPAT's victory may mark the first in a series of successful patent challenges. In April, the Electronic Frontier Foundation launched a high-profile challenge to ten questionnable patents including Amazon's infamous one-click shopping patent. The EFF's campaign may bear some fruit, as PUBPAT claims that patents which are challenged by third parties are either narrowed or revoked around 70% of the time. In a time when buying up patents and then demanding royalties on them has become a popular business model, a few successful challenges like PUBPAT's may put the brakes on such ventures.
