Microsoft Buying Up All The IT Rights!!!

Microsoft started a large campaign to generate revenues by patenting intellectual property.

Microsoft patents 'to-do' list:
news.zdnet.co.uk...

The company has received patents covering everything from seemingly elementary aspects of computing technology, such as double-clicking, to arcana such as XML-scripting methods.

Microsoft mistakenly patents an apple tree:
news.zdnet.co.uk...

The company embarked on a campaign late last year to generate more revenue from its patent portfolio, offering to license widely used inventions such as its ClearType font technology and FAT storage format.

I guess because of their anti-trust lawsuit, they have decided to generate revenue from other areas. I'm not too familiar with patents and anti-trust cases, but this seems kind of alarming. Won't this be just another way for them to take over smaller businesses? Instead of companies innovating new technology, they will have to succumb to paying for new software they may develop, or end up as middle men for software/hardware that already exists.
It just seems that maybe Microsoft is getting way too big...

This will ultimately be the demise of our economy. A legal system so corrupt that is gives ownership of knowledge. This is blatantly anti-competitive. It goes against everything a free market system stands for. In the ideal world the best product wins. In America it is who can afford the best lawyers and simply litigate the competition into financial ruin. There is no incentive for a company to better itself. It just uses the law as a tool to squash competition.

Here's another site with a lot of Microsoft news:
www.watchingmicrosoftlikeahawk.com...