Apparently, in a simultaneous fit of insanity, stupidity, and greed, British Telecom is claiming a patent on hyperlinking.
I thought the world was crazy, not stupid. Unfortunately, it seems to be both.
They already tried that one in Europe over a year ago. Of course, they got kicked in the teeth as they deserved and seemed to run back home crying. One of the fun parts of that event was France Telecom notifying British Telecom that they had used a system very similar to theirs before BT had, so that if BT tried to gain something on those grounds they'd go to court with that (it's rare to be on France Telecom's side on anything, trust me).
So they moved the claim to the US, because according to one of their people it is "the only place where we can make that claim". Read: it's the only patent office of any major country that is stupid enough not to dismiss the case before it even goes to court.
I have to admit... I half want BT to win there. It'd show the entire world just how undercompetent the USPTO is, and in that can only bring good in the long term
Re:Well...
pudge on 2002-02-08T20:52:07
This is one patent that I think not even the USPTO will let through.Re:Well...
chaoticset on 2002-02-08T21:03:05
I hope you're right.Re:Well...
darobin on 2002-02-08T21:10:26
Yes, I hope so. I guess their next target will be Australia, where one can safely patent the wheel
;-)
