Re: FN-FORUM: how many pages will broken after this?

date posted 1st September 2003 16:08

on 1/9/03 12:10 pm, Matt Edwards at [EMAIL REMOVED] wrote:

> "A system allowing a user of a browser program on a computer connected
> to an open distributed hypermedia system to access and execute an
> embedded program object. The program object is embedded into a
> hypermedia document much like data objects."
> - United States Patent 5,838,906
>
> If so then the fact Mozilla is more standards compliant than IE is
> irrelevant. The patent covers embedding an external program object into
> a hypermedia page - something Mozilla does in the same way as IE -
> , and XHTML aren't important. It's not the exectution
> that matters it's the fact that the browser is breaking the patent by
> doing so in the first place.

This is ridiculous. It must be getting to the point where no one dares
attempt to create something new for fear of a mugging by some vulture. What
has the patent holder done with the 'invention' other look for likely
candidates to sue? In this case, I sympathise with Microsoft and hope they
appeal.

Isn't there also an issue of 'prior art'? In 1987, Apple launched a product
called HyperCard which was a hyperlinked based product and it could act on
external objects such as launch applications, open documents. It wasn't
'open' but otherwise a precursor to the web browser in many respects.



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