Microsoft and Bing: The Hits Just Keep on Comin’
June 7, 2010
At the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ keynote speech introducing the iPhone’s facelift was big news. The buzz leading up to the rollout was deafening. Any time Mr. Jobs makes a presentation, it’s exciting for Apple aficionados.
The big news was supposed to be all about Apple when Mr. Jobs unveiled the new-look iPhone 4. With 16GB and 32GB capacities, it’s priced at $199 and $299, respectively. It’s 25 percent slimmer than its predecessor. It has twice the picture resolution, and has a computing brain with video-chat function. It will be sold in 88 nations.
As expected, Google is the iPhone’s default search engine. But wait, here’s some surprising news – a big secondary angle is that Bing is a search option on the iPhone. Now we know why we’ve heard rumblings in recent weeks about meetings between Apple and Microsoft.
“…Bing will be included as one of the search engine choices within Safari on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and within the Safari browser on the Mac and PC,” announced Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president at Microsoft, in a blog according to CNET.
“Needless to say, we are excited that Bing will be included as an option in Safari because it will make it easier for you to search and get the benefits of Bing,” he added.
“In addition, we are continuing to improve our existing Bing mobile application for iPhone which makes it easy to search, map, and find commerce and movie times,” Mr. Mehdi said. “We will have a new release with even more great features very soon. For those of you that have not already tried it, you can find it in the App Store today.”
Microsoft’s track record in partnerships is really terrific. Indeed, in its first year, Bing also scored by being the search engine for Facebook and Verizon phones.
And I’m not certain it’s getting full credit for its successes. Depending on the research firm, Bing is credited with a 10 to 11 percent market share. (But based on this Web site’s visitor’s data, Bing’s share appears to be at least 50 percent higher.)
It’s also worth noting Google has been tinkering with it home page appearance, including offering an option to change the background. To use football-announcing vernacular, “Is Google hearing Bing’s footsteps?”
From the start, Bing has been offering colorful, informative schemes. For my SEO taste, Bing has a more objective search process compared to Google’s quirky approach. And I love the Bing mouse-over option on the news videos.
Frankly, I don’t get it when I’ve read bloggers’ posts about Microsoft having a so-so year. The company has had a stellar year in forming partnerships. That’s an excellent lesson for any company.
So regarding Bing’s progress, as I used to say as a young rock ‘n’ roll DJ working my way through college, “The hits just keep on comin’.”
From the Coach’s Corner, here’s more on the new iPhone.
Risk Management – Lawyer Explains Basics in Protecting Intellectual Property
Each hour, it seems, news headlines are published about patents. Normally, patent headlines are a sign of business friction as the case with Xerox vs. Google and Yahoo, and Apple vs. Nokia.
So it’s extraordinary for adversaries such as Google and Yahoo to be on the same side. Xerox filed a patent lawsuit naming the two search giants alleging they are violating automatic query and information patents, according to InformationWeek.
It’s also rare when you can spot a positive news headline regarding patents. Note this PC World headline: “Microsoft, Amazon Strike Patent Licensing Deal.” This means Microsoft and Amazon.com will each tap into the other company’s technology. As part of the arrangement, Microsoft will receive payments from Amazon.com.
Entrepreneurs are well-advised to consider ways to avoid legal entanglements over their inventions and intellectual property.
Here’s an example: Apple vs. Nokia. In this case, the U.S. International Trade Commission is investigating.
Sounds serious, doesn’t it – it’s time to turn to a noted patent attorney for an explanation of this case.
“It looks like Apple and Nokia are using their patent portfolios to obtain some leverage from each other,” says Adam L.K. Philipp, founder of the Axios Law firm (www.axioslaw.com). “Generally, two firms of this size may posture, but then settle, especially as their respective patent portfolios are so large.”
He speaks from experience. He says his current clients include: “RealNetworks, Wetpaint, PhotoBucket (formerly Ontela), SEOmoz, Appature, Winshuttle, Kashless, HealthUnity, AirSplat.com, and many more.”
China makes a lot of intellectual property headlines. Is China getting a bad rap?
“China is becoming an intellectual property powerhouse; a bit like a very large high college football player. Young and inexperienced, but having a lot of potential and with the right seasoning has the ability to go to the NFL,” explains the Seattle attorney.
“Generally I tell my clients that it is not enough to have a business partner or intellectual property in China, you want to give your business partner the tools to use by filing for intellectual property protection in China,” adds Mr. Philipp.
He says entrepreneurs face five common problems in intellectual property (IP). They include:
- Waiting too long to seek IP protection
- Talking about their technology before securing protection
- Spending too little money on IP protection
- Spending too much money on IP protection
- Spending money on the wrong IP protection
“From a business perspective it is always important to think of intellectual property as providing a business with business tools,” he says. “By simply understanding IP better, businesses can make better decisions on a cost/benefit basis of how or if to proceed with IP protection.”
And he believes patents are needed for five reasons:
- To obtain exclusivity in their market (barriers to entry for others). Also to satisfy investors.
- To obtain licensing revenue
- For bragging rights (PR)
- For cross-licensing opportunities
- All of the above
How about trademarks?
“Securing the investment in a brand and the associated goodwill,” explains Mr. Philipp. “It is expensive and distracting to entrepreneurs and their customers to change a brand. Registering a trademark can help to avoid that.”
He warns about the importance of copyrights. “Registering copyrights allows a rights hold much easier and cheaper enforcement options. In particular access to statutory damages that can be quite effective in copyright litigation.”
He’s knowledgeable in the core issues in business-method patents, such as Bilski. Bilski was a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and later debated at the U.S. Supreme Court. But the high court’s decision still left questions about what can be patented.
What’s Bilski all about?
“The core issues revolve around the United States’ policy of protecting innovation; and deciding what types of innovations are worthy of patent protection,” Mr. Philipp says. “If is it merely a method of doing business, is that the kind of thing our Founding Fathers really wanted enshrined in the Constitution as protectable?”
Verbiage regarding patents, obviously, is technical, such as the machine or transformation test.
“That a process patent must either be tied to a particular machine or apparatus or must operate to change articles or materials to a ‘different state or thing’,” he explains. “Currently, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office merely requires a recitation of a particular computer performing the process for software inventions.”
OK, the bottom-line: When does he recommend inventors seek a patent attorney?
“As soon as they decide to build a business around their idea(s),” he concludes. “But that does not mean that they need to start filing for protection right away, rather that they should be informed and strategic about how they allocate their budget.”
Take it from me, pay heed to this information if you want to avoid unnecessary headaches.
From the Coach’s Corner, on a lighter note courtesy of Forbes, here are images of The Kookiest Inventions. (I haven’t verified whether they have made money. )