W3C Calls for Invalidation of Eolas Patent
By Ethan Marcotte | October 29th, 2003 | Filed in W3C/Standards Documentation
Skip to comment formIn the latest bout of activity surrounding the controversial Eolas vs Microsoft case, Tim Berners-Lee, director of the W3C and inventor of the World Wide Web, wrote an impassioned letter to the director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Acting on behalf of the HTML Patent Advisory Group, Berners-Lee urged the USPTO director to first reexamine the Eolas patent, and invalidate it on the grounds of extensive prior art. He maintained that a failure to revoke Eolas’ patent would have effects “felt not only by those who are alleged to directly infringe, but all whose web pages and application rely on the stable, standards-based operation of browsers threatened by this patent.”
The New York Times provides additional coverage and commentary (free registration required). Given the impact that the Eolas patent has on the future of an open, standards-driven Web, we here at WaSP anxiously await the results of the W3C‘s efforts — and will hope for the best.