IE Patent Endgame Detailed
Paul Festa,
CNet News.com,
Sept 12, 2003
If you use plug-ins on your website, prepare for some changes as Microsoft continues to lose appeals to a verdict declaring that a small holding company actually "invented" plug-ins, and that Microsoft and presumably other browsers, are in violation. The patent covers the ability of a web page to seamlessly launch resources from external sites. Placing a an intervening dialogue box, while ridiculous, may be the only way around the patent (since, you see, it's the idea, not some actual invention, that's protected). "When you think about this, having to go around the patent highlights the stupidity of the patent system," he [Michael Wallent] said. "Everyone in the field is very saddened by the whole thing, that we have to go through this exercise. The W3C has worked very hard to make the Web remain patent free and this might be the one thing that screws it all up. It's really very frustrating."
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