British Telecommunication鈥檚 controversial claim to have patented internet hyperlinking faces a substantial legal obstacle after a US judge ruled that the patent in question applies only to 鈥渁 single device鈥� at the heart of a network of access terminals.
Experts say this will make it difficult for BT to argue that its patent covers internet hyperlinking, as this connects many different, stand-alone computers.
New York District Judge Colleen McMahon made the ruling in a court case that is crucial to BT鈥檚 hopes of enforcing the patent and collecting lucrative royalties from most US internet companies.
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In December 2000, BT filed a lawsuit against one of the oldest US internet service providers, Prodigy, for alleged patent infringement. Prodigy was the first US company to allow customers to publish web pages containing links and therefore the first to profit from the technology.
Single device
MacMahon wrote in her ruling: 鈥淚n this patent, the computer is a single device, in one location. It is referred to as 鈥榗entral鈥� because it is connected to numerous physically separate stations called 鈥榬emote terminals鈥�, by the telephone lines of a telephone network.鈥�
David Vaver, director of the Oxford University鈥檚 Intellectual Property Research Centre, UK, told 快猫短视频: 鈥淚t looks as if BT were talking about a distributed computing system of the sort common around the 1970鈥檚 and 80鈥檚.鈥�
These early distributed computer systems used one central computer to store and process information and many 鈥渄umb鈥� terminals to access this central hub. By contrast, the internet connects lots of individual computers, with hyperlinks providing a means of jumping between the web pages stored on them.
Complex ruling
But Vader adds that the case could still go either way: 鈥淭he judge bought some of BT鈥檚 arguments and some of Prodigy鈥檚. It鈥檚 a very complex ruling.鈥� BT and Prodigy must tell the judge within 30 days how they expect this interpretation to impact on their arguments.
Vader also says that correspondences between BT and the US patent office before the patent was filed may prove crucial to the case, because these could help define the technology BT had in mind.
BT has yet to decide how it will proceed. 鈥淲e are still considering it,鈥� a BT spokesman told 快猫短视频. 鈥淭he lawyers are looking into the ruling.鈥�
The patent only applies in the US where it was filed in 1977 and issued in 1989. A similar European patent has expired.