On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 16:59:34 -0700, Jared Anderson wrote
> On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 16:04:56 -0700, Alex Dean writes:
>...
>
> What does this mean? It means that Microsoft can now claim as
> its intellectual
> property several of the key concepts that make Web-browser 
> technology possible. Theoretically, if you want to use these 
> technologies - or any technology based on them - you now need to 
> sign a licensing agreement with Microsoft.  Imagine a world in which 
> every Web site using CSS, DHTML, and XSL has to be Microsoft-certified.
> 
> The situation may never get that bad, however.  Microsoft has 
> reported that it will offer "free and reciprocal" licensing 
> agreements to anyone who wants to use "its" technology, adding that 
> it is not even clear whether a license will be necessary.

First IANAL. I haven't read the patent....

Even if the patent is as it purports it is unenforceable -- prior art in the
form of an ISO standard style sheet language for SGML came in 1996 -- it was
invented way before that...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document_Style_Semantics_and_Specification_Language

SGML and DSSSL were the real basis for the web standards.  So the article was
right about the patent office -- it's very messed up.  Can't even see the
obvious prior art...

Jeff

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