You are here: silicon.com > Management > IT Director

IT Director

Apple patent awarded to Microsoft

Read on...

By David Becker

Published: 6 May 2004 08:20 GMT

Apparently, intellectual property does grow on trees.

Microsoft, amid an IP spree that has won the company patent protection for everything from XML dialects to video game storage methods, mistakenly received a patent on Tuesday for a new variety of apple tree.

US Plant Patent 14,757, granted to Robert Burchinal of East Wenatchee, Washington, and assigned to Microsoft, covers a new type of tree discovered in the early 90s in the Wenatchee area, a major commercial apple-growing region. Dubbed the 'Burchinal Red Delicious', the tree is notable for producing fruit that achieves a deep red colour significantly earlier than other varieties. It is sold commercially as the Adams Apple'.

According to the patent, there are currently about 1,000 samples of the tree growing in the area of Wenatchee, a rural town about 90 miles east of Microsoft's home base of Redmond.

Other than the assignee field, the patent makes no reference to Microsoft to explain the software giant's apparent new horticultural interest.

Burchinal declined to comment on the patent, but a member of his household said the Microsoft assignation was probably an error.

A Microsoft representative confirmed that the assigning of the patent to the company was a mistake, after the apple paperwork was misfiled with a group of applications from a legal firm commonly used by the software giant. Microsoft has filed with the Patent Office for a certificate of correction to re-assign the patent to Burchinal, the representative said.

David Becker writes for News.com

  1. Zones
  2. Management
  3. Networks
  4. Software
  5. IT Services
  6. Hardware
  1. Verticals
  2. Public Sector
  3. Financial Services
  4. Retail & Leisure

  • Jobs
SAP XI/PI Integration Lead Architect

Architecture for strategic roadmaps Responsible for the 1-2+ year strategic plan for the SAP PI/XI Integration Services Responsible for influencing ...

Oracle PL/SQL/Forms (9i) Developers X2

My clients are a household name within the Insurance sector. This is a high level role and the duties will be extremely varied, ranging from setting ...

CharacterAnimator

Character Animator To help us breathe life into the characters for our latest next generation game, we are currently looking for an animator to join ...

Agenda Setters 2009
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.





Quick Sitemap Links: