&gt; patent trolls<p>Microsoft has probably been the least aggressive of the larger software companies in the use of patents. While Gates ran it, I don&#x27;t recall them ever using patents to shut down competitors. They did collect a &quot;war chest&quot; of patents, but as a defensive &quot;mutually assured destruction&quot; strategy.<p>Microsoft was famously sued by Apple over &quot;look and feel&quot; copyrights. After that, who could blame them for amassing a large patent portfolio?