Little Guy Takes on Software Giant and loses

[Jason Dunn]

<a href="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020403/ap_on_hi_te/pocket_pc_battle_2&cid=528">http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020403/ap_on_hi_te/pocket_pc_battle_2&cid=528</a><br /><br />Remember this guy and his "Pocket PC"? Well, he had his day in court and lost because, gosh, Microsoft "had too much evidence". What was he expecting? What a scam artist...<br /><br />"It was not the usual courtroom battle for Microsoft Corp. No teams of lawyers. No reams of documents. No streams of delays. But still, even in small claims court Tuesday, the software titan was a formidable opponent. <br /><br />Entrepreneur Ken Belanger sued the Redmond, Wash.-based company for trademark infringement, but after Marianne Petersen, a Microsoft paralegal, appeared before Court Commissioner Sue Kaplan with a binder of evidence — and Belanger had only a few slips of paper — the 40-year-old San Francisco resident withdrew that claim. "I couldn't win there," Belanger said later outside the courtroom. "They have too much evidence." Source: Sean Hanley

[Ed Hansberry]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
MS sent a paralegal with a legal pad.
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Charles Pickrell]

Is it just me or does the www.pocketpc.com URL not even work anymore?

[Dave Conger]

He didn't even lose! He withdrew...if he had really thought that "Pocket PC" was his, then he wouldn't have withdrawn. And it is "lucky" he didn't win cause I am sure if he had he would have probably followed through on this statement:
...pursue other small claims cases against companies that advertise Microsoft's Pocket PC-based devices.

What a load of... :roll:

[Dave Conger]

Is it just me or does the www.pocketpc.com URL not even work anymore?


Whois for PocketPC.com

Record last updated on 01-Apr-2002.
Record expires on 10-Mar-2002.
Record created on 10-Mar-2000.
Database last updated on 3-Apr-2002 02:03:00 EST.

Isn't that a problem??? Didn't we go through this with hotmail?

[JMountford]

All I have to say is " well Duh !" .

[Robert Levy]

Just did my good deed for the week - pocketpc.com has been renewed and should be accessible again within 24 hours.

[Robert Levy]

On a related note, Microsoft did remember to renew pocketpc.NET and pocketpc.ORG

[jmulder]

Here's another article on the same guy. It seems he's already bilked Pacific Bell and Digital Equipment Corp. out of a few thousand dollars...and he intended to keep milking MS for more money!!

http://news.com.com/2100-1040-874987.html?legacy=cnet&tag=pt.msnbc.feed..ne_9610412

What a loser!

-Jim

[Chubbergott]

:wink: Well, it keeps him off the streets eh? Just think, he could be out mugging old grannies!

[rapster]

Hmmm...Jason's summary doesn't match what the Bay Cities New Service is reporting:

SAN FRANCISCO - A small claims court commissioner in San Francisco Superior Court held a hearing on a local businessman's copyright claim against Microsoft Corp. today and said she'll send her ruling in the mail within two weeks.

Ken Belanger, 41, of San Francisco, is seeking $5,000 -- the maximum allowed in small claims court -- from the software giant for allegedly violating his copyright on a joke he entitled `Pocket PC.''

Belanger's Pocket PC, which he says he copyrighted in 1985, is a booklet and a small box containing a poker chip with a serial number.

Microsoft uses the term for the operating system used in handheld personal computers produced by several different equipment manufacturers.

Belanger said he chose small claims court for his case because parties in that court can't have lawyers and he can't afford to fight Microsoft's heavyweight legal teams.

Belanger started out with a trademark violation case but switched course two days ago and changed to a copyright claim.

Marianne Peterson, a paralegal representing Microsoft, argued before Commissioner Sue Kaplan today that a copyright claim would have to be litigated in a federal court.

Belanger, representing himself, contended that he could use any court so long as he informed the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, D.C. -- which he did two days ago -- that he was pursuing a claim in court.

Kaplan took the case under submission after a 15-minute hearing.

Outside of court, Peterson referred questions to Microsoft spokesman Matt Pilla, who said he could not comment because the matter is before a court.

Belanger is the chief executive of a four-person company called BitShark, which traces copyrights and trademarks on the Internet.

He said that if he wins his case, he wants to license the use of the name to personal computer equipment makers.