Apparently, British Telecom (BT) is thinking about suing all ISP's for infringing on one of their patents. What's the patent you ask? Oh nothing really, just a little something about hyperlinks. As in: BT thinks they invented (and patented) the idea of hyperlinks. You can read the patent yourself here. I'd like to see what Al Gore has to say about this one. Who really did invent the internet? Whatever your answer, BT probably isn't it. This suit (if they really do bring it) will definitely go nowhere (prior art? How about Ted Nelson's Xanadu from 20 years earlier?) Still, it's annoying to see companies try to cash in like this. Maybe this one is so outrageous that it will spark some much needed patent law reform. We can only hope.
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- jim 6-19-2000 9:08 pm