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[FYI] Patente: Hyperlinks in den USA lizenzpflichtig?
- To: debate@fitug.de
- Subject: [FYI] Patente: Hyperlinks in den USA lizenzpflichtig?
- From: "Axel H Horns" <horns@ipjur.com>
- Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 20:02:44 +0200
- Comment: This message comes from the debate mailing list.
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- Reply-to: horns@ipjur.com
- Sender: owner-debate@fitug.de
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/2000/24/ns-16116.html
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BT faces more shame in hyperlink row, say experts
Tue, 20 Jun 2000 11:50:06 GMT Richard Barry
More PR shame, litigation and a hell of a fight from US ISPs
predicted as British Telecom tries to establish patent on hyperlinks
British Telecom believes it owns a 14 year US patent for the World
Wide Web's hyperlink technology and has hired an intellectual
property specialist to ensure it can commercialise the patent, in
court if necessary.
Buried amongst 15,000 global patents, BT claims it discovered its
lapse during a routine update of its intellectual property.
Hyperlinks are used to connect to other words, pages or pictures on
the Internet and are central to its operation.
If the find is upheld, BT could be given the go ahead to pursue money
from American ISPs -- a tactic it has already initiated.
"It is regrettable that we weren't involved in the Net from the
ground up," explains a spokesman. "What we are looking to do is
charge US ISPs for using our intellectual property, that is fair."
But British Telecom's vision of what is fair is bound to meet with
fierce resistance across the pond, where Internet legislation is
increasingly frequent. "There is no doubt this will lead to a massive
battle in America," says Robin Bynoe, Net expert with London law firm
Charles Russell.
Bynoe is not convinced that, even if BT does own the patent, that it
can sue for infringement. "Just because there is a patent doesn't
mean it is for what they [BT] say it's for. You can bet that if BT
does go for this in the courts, they will meet major litigation. They
need to think about that."
And BT cannot afford more PR shame: recently the company published
the names and personal details of customers who had signed up for its
ADSL offering. Many of those customers are seeking recourse through
Oftel and trading standards bodies. Its rollout of unmetered access
in the UK has been overshadowed by rows and campaigns accusing the
telco of greed and acting in the interests of its shareholders rather
than the general public.
"Yet again," says an ISP who requested anonymity, "we see the ugly
head of BT's greedy self emerge to frown at users who are not lining
its pockets. This really is going too far and I expect them to suffer
badly at the hands of the press and the users of the Net both here
and in America."
Scipher, the specialist helping BT with the patent application, did
not return calls at press time.
More details on this story throughout the week.
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Dazu die alles entscheidenden Patentansprueche aus US-A-4,873,662:
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1. A digital information storage, retrieval and display system
comprising:
a central computer means in which plural blocks of information are
stored at respectively corresponding locations, each of which
locations is designated by a predetermined address therein by means
of which a block can be selected, each of said blocks comprising a
first portion containing information for display and a second portion
containing information not for display but including the complete
address for each of plural other blocks of information;
plural remote terminal means, each including (a) modem means for
effecting input/output digital data communication with said central
computer means via the telephone lines of a telephone network, (b)
local memory for locally storing digital data representing at least
the first portion of the selected block of information received via
said modem means from the central computer, (c) display means for
visually displaying such a locally stored first portion of a block of
information and (d) key pad means connected to communicate data to at
least said modem means for manual entry of keyed digital data; and
further memory means being provided as a part of said central
computer means for receiving and storing said second portion of the
block of information selected by a particular terminal means in
response to the selection of the block and when its respective first
portion is transmitted to that terminal means for display, said
central computer means utilizing keyed digital data from that
particular terminal means of less extent than any one of said
complete addresses for another block of information but nevertheless
uniquely indicative of one of the complete addresses contained in
said portion of the block of information which contains the first
portion then being displayed by that particular terminal means for
selectively accessing the part of said further memory means
associated with that particular terminal means and for supplying the
complete address of the next block of information which is to be
retrieved for that particular terminal means and utilized for display
purposes at that terminal means.
[...]
3. A digital information storage, retrieval and display system
comprising:
a central computer means in which plural blocks of information are
stored at respectively corresponding locations each of which
locations is designated by a predetermined address therein by means
of which a block can be selected, each of said blocks comprising a
first portion containing information for display and a second portion
containing information not for display but including the complete
address for each of plural other blocks of information;
plural remote terminal means, each including (a) modem means for
effecting input/output digital data communication with said central
computer means via the telephone lines of a telephone network, (b)
local memory means for locally storing digital data representing at
least the first portion of the selected block of information received
via said modem means from the central computer and for processing
digital data, (c) display means for visually displaying such a
locally stored first portion of a block of information and (d) keypad
means connected to communicate data to at least said local memory
means for manual entry of keyed digital data; and
further memory means being provided as a part of said local memory
means at each of said remote terminal means for receiving and storing
said second portion of the selected block of information in response
to the selection of the block and when its respective first portion
is transmitted thereto, said local memory means utilizing keyed
digital data of less extent than any one of said complete addresses
for another block of information but nevertheless uniquely indicative
of one of the complete addresses contained in said second portion of
the block of information which contains the first portion then being
displayed for selectively accessing said further memory means and for
supplying data to be transmitted by said modem means and indicative
of the complete address of the next block of information which is to
be retrieved and utilized for display purposes.
[...]
5. A terminal apparatus for use in a digital information storage,
retrieval and display system having a central computer and a
plurality of remote terminal apparatuses providing access via
telephone lines to information stored in the central computer as
plural blocks of information, each said block of information being
stored at a respectively corresponding location designated by a
predetermined unique address by means of which single address that
complete block of information can be selected, each of said blocks
comprising a first portion containing information for display at a
remote terminal apparatus and a second portion containing information
not for display but including the complete address for each of plural
other stored blocks of information, said terminal apparatus
comprising:
(a) modem means for effecting input/output digital data
communications with said central computer via the telephone lines of
a telephone network,
(b) local memory means linked to said modem means for locally storing
digital data representing at least the first portion of the selected
block of information received via said modem means from the central
computer,
(c) display means coupled to said local memory means for visually
displaying such a locally stored first portion of a block of
information,
(d) keypad means coupled to at least one of said modem means and said
local memory means for manual entry of keyed digital data,
(e) further memory means for receiving and storing said second
portion of a selected block of information when its respective first
portion is transmitted for display to the terminal means, and
(f) means coupled to said further memory means and to said keypad
means for addressing such second portion stored in said further
memory means using keypad digital data of less extent than any one of
said complete addresses for another block of information to address a
portion of the further memory means and cause a read-out portion of
the further memory means to supply the complete address of the next
block of information which is to be retrieved and utilized for
display purposes, the thus obtained complete address being
transmissible via the modem means to said central computer.
[...]
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Man muesste vor allem auch ueber die Bedeutung von "central" in
"central computer" nachdenken und ueberlegen, ob das mit dem WWW
ueberhaupt was zu tun hat.