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The Suit That Could Kill Internet Explorer?
Posted by James Grimmelmann on Wednesday, November 13 @ 09:21:33 EST Patent
Cringely's latest column has been getting a lot of buzz. He profiles Eolas Technologies, which claims to own a patent that covers all browser plug-ins. Eolas, of course, is suing Microsoft for patent infringement, and has been having moderate success so far. The trial is in the discovery phase, and Eolas is winning more than its share of skirmishes over what evidence Microsoft must or must not disclose to Eolas's lawyers. (The best source for links to court documents seems to be the Eolas news page).

The twist is that Eolas has been pledging not to settle: they "just" want Microsoft to stop using their IP. This tactic has the potential to effectively kill IE, by making it unable to compete with other browsers on features. The last IE not to support plug-ins was what, version 2? Version 1?

Although LawMeme is not, as a rule, very sympathetic to Microsoft, and although LawMeme is always pleased to see a little guy standing up for principle, LawMeme is also more than a bit disturbed at this kind of use of patent law. The idea that a smart inventor with smart lawyers could keep a well-known and reasonably self-evident idea from the world and turn the computing clock back a decade is the kind of abuse giving patent law a bad name.

 
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Re: The Suit That Could Kill Internet Explorer? (Score: 1)
by jackjumper on Wednesday, November 13 @ 10:48:52 EST
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Can you use a patent in a discriminatory fashion? Seems like restraint of trade if they refuse to license the patent to Microsoft and then let everyone else have it for free...


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Re: The Suit That Could Kill Internet Explorer? (Score: 0)
by Anonymous (Name Withheld on Advice of Counsel) on Wednesday, November 13 @ 17:52:44 EST
Please tell me how ANYONE managed to get a patent on browser plugins?

If this company does what I think they won't, it would kill all modern browsers(including Netscape, Mozilla, Phoenix, Opera and IE), seeing as all of these browsers use similar plug-in methods.

But I have the oddest feeling this company is using software patents to try and injure the Behemoth.

Overall I hate software patents, the slow down software advances, and enter the public domain after the technology is no longer useful.


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