Sunday, March 14, 2004

Real Glass 8:28:11 PM    comment []

8:19:17 PM    comment []

From Barrons: Rarely will you see a software developer shed tears for Bill Gates, but the Microsoft chairman is actually coming off as the sympathetic victim in the Eolas Technologies versus Microsoft patent saga. In fact, Silicon Valley and the intellectual-property community has quietly rallied behind Microsoft's unusual bid to have a patent overturned. As we first reported (Plugged In, Oct. 13, 2003), Microsoft was considering altering its Explorer Web browser in response to a shocking patent-infringement judgment awarded last August by a Chicago jury to Eolas, which is based in Wheaton, Ill. The changes would have affected millions of Websites all over the world. But about two weeks ago, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the patent issued to Eolas, which now has 60 days to file an appeal. It was a rare event. The patent office has reviewed only 151 existing patents out of nearly 4 million issued since 1988, according to InfoWorld magazine. The University of California filed for the patent in 1998 -- about two years after Microsoft launched its Explorer browser. The patent was eventually granted to the university and licensed to Eolas. The patent covers interactive technology that delivers Web pages and other applications to computers via the Internet. The rub is that most technologists and intellectual-property experts thought the patent shouldn't have been issued in the first place. Some accused Eolas founder and former University of California researcher Michael Doyle of opportunistically claiming rights to the technology with the intention of suing deep-pocketed Microsoft for infringement. Supporting that theory is that, several years after receiving the patent, Eolas reportedly has no employees and no products. Still, as of last August, it appeared that the ploy had worked when an apparently confused jury ruled that Microsoft had to pay Eolas an astronomical $521 million in damages. It was one of the largest intellectual-property awards in history. The key word: was. While the legal battle could endure for some time, many intellectual-property experts expect the Patent Office's decision to invalidate the patent to stick. This isn't good news for the Minneapolis law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, which represents Eolas. In a fit of premature celebration and self-congratulation, Robins Kaplan partner Martin R. Leuck crowed to the National Law Journal: "We bad!" Well, they certainly aren't as good as they thought they were before the Patent Office's rare reversal. In the recent law journal article, Leuck credited his firm's success to the due diligence it does before agreeing to take a case. "We do a good job in the intake stage," he said. Perhaps not good enough, as it turns out. 3:50:44 PM    comment []

From Lawtalkers.com the SV Board: 3:44:02 PM    comment []

A Californian's Conception of the Continental U.S. Post #768 I ran across this map, which reminded me of "The view of the world from 9th Avenue" cover of The New Yorker: quote: Legend 1. California. Unsurprisingly, California remains intact. 2. This is the state of Reno, which is easy to spot because it’s just outside the “Tahoe Region”. 3. The state of Vegas. 4. All Californians know that their neighbor to the north is Oregon. They know this because Oregon is where Chai was invented. 5. This is the state of Seattle unless you’re really wealthy, in which case it’s the state of Puget Sound. This is where Starbucks comes from. You’ll note that both Oregon and Seattle span the space between the west coastline and the I-5 corridor. 6. This is Death Valley. It’s hot here. Except in the winter, when it’s cold. 7. This is the state of Aspen. From the state of Aspen, you can ski straight into state #9 8. This state has two names for Californians. If you’re from Northern California, it’s known as “That Bastard of a President’s Ranch”. If you’re from Southern California, it’s called “The Alamo”. 9. The Midwest. It’s a huge state, as you can see, and for Californians, Midwest inhabitants on both sides of the Mississippi live on a strict diet of iceberg lettuce and Budweiser, which is why they have such big hair. 10. The blue vertical line is the Mississippi River. Californians don’t actually know where it is, they just know it’s in the middle of the country and that it runs “up and down”. 11. 11 points to the state of Chicago, which is a convenient home to the city of Chicago. [I can’t begin to tell you how many Californians think Chicago is a state]. 12. This is Florida. It’s home to Disney World (which is just like Disneyland) and a lot of Cubans, like that Ricky Martin. 13. This is Back East, colloquially known as New England. It contains most of the 50 states because the Pilgrims thought small. That’s why they’re so rude Back East, you know. They don’t have room enough to spread out their yoga mats and become one with the universe. 14. New York, where the official state animal is the bagel. 3:43:13 PM    comment []