Microsoft's patent loss rattles tech community
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
Companies with products that work on the Internet are slowly waking up to the broad implications of a recent judgement against software behemoth Microsoft Corp. in a patent infringement case.
That patent, U.S. number 5,838,906, was developed by Eolas president Michael Doyle at the University of California in San Francisco and covers technology that enables small computer programs, often referred to as "applets" or "plug-ins," to be embedded in Web pages and interacted with through Web browsers like Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
But technology and legal experts agree that the ruling could affect a wide range of technology companies with products that interact with Web browsers, or services that rely on customer interaction through Web browsers.
"Fundamentally, (the Eolas patent) describes a way of implementing plug-ins in a Web browser," said Richard Smith, an independent technology expert in Boston. "People who use plug-ins like (Macromedia Inc.'s) Flash or Java applets are covered by the Eolas patent," he said.
Macromedia, which distributes a free plug-in to view Macromedia Flash files, did not respond to requests for comment.
Real Software Inc., which makes multimedia software that can be played through Web browsers, said it could not immediately comment on the ruling.