Volume I

Issue : 10: November 13, 2003

• B.C. Court of Appeal Takes Note of Special Nature of an IT Business in Recent Decision
• Internet Browser Patent Re examination Ordered
• Time Warner to Enter the VoIP Market in California Bangladesh to Open VoIP to Private Sector
• CDT Releases Report on Spyware
• FTC Holiday Warning to E tailers
• B.C. Supreme Court has Jurisdiction Over Domain Name Dispute
• U.S. Court of Appeals Reverses FBI Eavesdropping Orders
• Pharma Companys Use of Cookies Found Not in of Violation of Privacy Legislation
• Manufacture of Garage Door Openers Uses DCMA to Fight Competitor
• Music Industry Establishes One-Stop International Licence for Webcasters
• Movie Industry Set to Sue Individual File Sharers in War Against Piracy
• Report Finds Identity Theft on the Rise in Canada
• Bank Managers Disclosure Of Private Information Leads To Cancelled Wedding

Home > Volume I > Issue 10: November 13, 2003 > Internet Browser Patent Re examination Ordered

Internet Browser Patent Re examination Ordered

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ordered on October 30, 2003 the re-examination of U.S. Patent No. 5,838,906 ("the Eolas Patent") at the centre of a $521M jury award against Microsoft Corporation ` in favour of patent licensee Eolas Technologies (See: Microsoft Loss In Eolas Patent Case).

Following submissions by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the primary standard-setting organization for the World Wide Web, including a letter from W3C Director and renowned Web founder, Tim Berners-Lee, the USPTO ordered the re-examination. W3C cited two publications allegedly not reviewed by the USPTO or the Eolas court and detailed how the publications invalidate the Eolas patent. To support the prior (1993) publication of the two publications, W3C referenced an archive maintained by the University of Calgary.

Mr. Berners-Lee's letter urged the USPTO to consider the strength of the invalidity argument as well as the implications to the software industry and public should the patent remain issued. Berners-Lee asserted that unless the patent is invalidated, Microsoft and others will re-design their respective Web browsers to avoid the patent, rendering many existing Web pages obsolete. The loss of these pages will require substantial effort and cost to recode. Pages of historical interest may not be recoded.

In setting standards, W3C seeks to avoid the inclusion of patented technology. Berners-Lee stressed that barriers created by the Eolas patent "cause fragmentation in the basic standards that weave the Web together. Denial of access to any particular technology is a problem that engineers can successfully address, provided they have knowledge of the barrier before it becomes part of a standard. However, as the [Eolas] patent threatens widely deployed, standard technology, the damage is magnified. If the [Eolas] patent remains in force, Web page designers and software developers will face a dangerous dilemma. They may comply with globally-recognized Web standards resulting in an inadequate user experience of their content. Or, they may attempt to design to the various work-arounds chosen by different browser developers and face the uncertainly of not knowing who will be able to use their content or applications properly."

For the W3C submissions, visit:

http://www.w3.org/2003/10/301-filing.html

For the W3C letter of Berners-Lee, visit:

http://www.w3.org/2003/10/27-rogan.html