W3C Opens Public Discussion Forum on US Patent 5,838,906 and Eolas v. Microsoft.

Cover Pages: W3C Opens Public Discussion Forum on US Patent 5,838,906 and Eolas v. Microsoft:

  • Eolas claims: ‘The patent covers Web browsers that support such currently popular technologies as ActiveX components, Java applets, and Navigator plug-ins. Eolas’ advanced browser technology makes possible rich interactive online experiences for over 500 million Web users, worldwide.’
  • The article’s analysis: “People already of the opinion that US laws on software patents are hopelessly broken, that philosophical justification is fatally flawed, and that the patent review process is badly administered (patent application reviewers having no concept of what a “non-obvious” software solution might be) — will have no difficulty classifying this case as yet another in a long history of embarrassing episodes, giving the Europeans just cause for derisive laughter. People already of the opinion that software patents constitute a healthy mechanism for supporting innovation will applaud the entrepreneurial spirit of the University of California in (apparently) landing this big fish at the expense of a(nother) convicted monopolist. Open source software vendors are understandably worried about rulings such as this, as they have no adequate weapons with which to defend themselves against attack.”

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