BT claims hyperlink patented. wants royalties from ISP's
JohnG
Outrage in US as web technology is found to have been patented
E-finance: special report
Neil McIntosh
Wednesday June 21, 2000
British Telecom confirmed yesterday that it is pressing ahead with plans to exploit a patent it holds for one of
the main building blocks of the world wide web, and land potentially huge bills at the doors of US internet
companies.
The company has sent letters to US internet service providers telling them of its claim to "hyperlinks" - the
technology which allows web users to move from one page to another by clicking on text or pictures.
BT is inviting those ISPs to open discussions on licensing the technology, which is covered by patent number
4,873,662, issued to BT in the US in 1989. The patent runs until 2006.
One British-based intellectual property expert warned yesterday that the move could lead to "the most almighty
bust-up" which could paralyse the US portion of the internet.
BT's claim on the technology goes back to research conducted in the 1970s. BT applied for patents relating to
hypertext linking in 1976 but these were not granted in the US until 1989. The patents were granted for 17
years. Patents taken out at the same time elsewhere in the world have now expired.
A spokesman for BT said yesterday that the company had told major US-based ISPs about the intellectual
property claim, and asked them to discuss the possibility of taking out licences.
ISPs have responded, but the spokesman refused to discuss the nature of the responses, other than to say
negotiations were continuing.
"There are many very significant players in the US hi-tech economy making billion dollar-plus revenues a year
out of intellectual property - IBM and companies of that scope," he said.
"BT is a major world player in terms of its intellectual property - we have over 15,000 patents - and we do
things to exploit those commercially.
"This is something we think could create reasonable royalties for BT. As to how much, that will be something
we will discuss with ISPs."
As the US internet woke up to the news yesterday, there was an immediate explosion of indignation online.
At the tech-savvy Slashdot bulletin board, some users initially thought the news that the web's key technology
was patented was a late April Fool's joke. Disbelief, however, quickly gave way to anger - at BT for
attempting to exploit its patent, and at the US patent office which delayed processing BT's application by nine
years.
British legal experts said that they could see few legal hurdles to prevent BT from cashing in on its patent.
Robin Whaite, intellectual property partner at law firm Linklaters, said BT's new-found desire to protect its
patent, years after it was issued, is not unusual. It was, he says, an example of a "submarine patent" which
"pops up when you least expect it".
He added that, because of the relatively recent birth of the commercial worldwide web, BT should not have
difficulty in extracting "reasonable royalties" stretching back six years. "This could be a huge case," he said.
Ben Goodger, an intellectual property expert at British law firm Willoughby and Partners, said he knew of no
reason why BT should not be able to enforce its patent.
"What seems to be emerging is that if I went and put a website up and made a hypertext link I would not have
to go to BT cap in hand and pay money," he said. "But it's AOL and other massive players on the internet that
BT would be targeting with a commensurately huge licence fee.
"Once you are aware that you are infringing, the damages position becomes much worse. BT are obviously
getting good advice; under US law, if you carry out what is called 'wilful infringement' you are liable for
treble damages.
"What I would ask is: is it really in their commercial interest, given the culture of the internet? Over-assertion
of intellectual property is very unpopular, and people will find a way to work around it."
guardianunlimited.co.uk. |
