Microsoft’s “Rights elevator” patent was rejected, amended, and re-submitted several times before being accepted. Patent reform has been a goal of companies like Microsoft and Google for years. The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the Bilski case, which limited patents on business methods. Einschlag said Microsoft’s patent isn’t likely to be affected by the Supreme Court’s ruling. If that happens, most of the issues prompting patent reform will remain to be resolved another day.”]
Source: https://www.darkreading.com/analytics/does-new-microsoft-patent-infringe-on-unix-program-sudo-