Graphical slider bars like this – used for setting audio volume, fill color, or the zoom scale of a document – have been around since the dawn of the mouse because it’s obviously the most efficient way of adjustment. But in 2007 Microsoft was granted design patent D554,140 [PDF], giving it rights to the concept.
On December 18, Microsoft cited the design patent, along with eight others, in a lawsuit against Corel (remember them?) for copying the design style of Redmond’s Office suite in the Canadian firm’s Home Office software.
Source: What did we learn today? Microsoft has patented the slider bar
Patents and copyright are stupid and should never last for more than 5 years.
Robin Edgar
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