From: <xmyslik@aldebaran.feld.cvut.cz>
Subject: hyperlinks
To: <patent-examples@gnu.org>
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2000 13:19:04 +0100 (MET)

Just guessing the date when alphabets will get patented....


British Telecommunications has launched an effort to enforce its ownership
of the US patent for hypertext links. Patent attorneys working for BT have
started with a suit against Prodigy Communications Corp. in New York State
that seeks $Millions in fees. If the test case succeeds, BT would be in a
position to collect enormous royalties from US ISPs. BT was awarded its
Hidden Page patent in 1989. The patent was forgotten and then rediscovered
by accident. The company was awarded similar patents in other countries
but
they have expired everywhere but the US. Many analysts doubt the case is
likely to succeed as hypertext transfer protocol, or HTTP, was developed
at
the Swiss CERN nuclear research center drawing from earlier work by Ted
Nelson who reportedly coined the term hypertext in his 1965 book, Literary
Machines. For more information, read <A
HREF="http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/00/12/15/001215hnbtprodigy.xml?p=br&s=5"
TARGET="new_window"><B>infoworld.com</B></A> and <A
HREF="http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/15485.html"
TARGET="new_window"><B>theregister.co.uk.</B>