Microsoft Sued Over Broad Web Patent

Eolas makes wide claims for accessing programs embedded in a Web page.

James Niccolai, IDG News Service

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In the complaint filed Wednesday in Chicago federal district court, Eolas Technology charged that Microsoft has infringed on a patent for technology that allows a Web browser to access interactive programs embedded in a Web page, such as plug-ins, applets, or ActiveX controls.

Patent Number 5,838,906 was granted to Eolas on November 17, 1998, and can be viewed on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Web site. The patent describes in part "a system allowing a user of a browser program ... to access and execute an embedded program object."

Several of Microsoft's Web-enabled products infringe on the patent, including Windows 98, Windows 95, and Internet Explorer, the suit alleges. Eolas is seeking unspecified damages and an injunction forcing Microsoft to stop manufacturing the products until the case comes to trial.

Microsoft said it was alerted to the lawsuit by the press and has not yet had time to review the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern division. "We don't have any comment on the substance of this right now," Microsoft spokeperson Adam Sohn said.

Other Targets as Well?

While Eolas' lawsuit names only Microsoft, Eolas's founder and chief executive officer, Michael Doyle, acknowledged that the patent is so broad that it could apply to virtually any product on the market that uses a system for accessing executable programs in Web pages.

"It's a generic technology patent that covers any product like that," Doyle said. "Our technology is being used worldwide."

The patent suit is likely to draw the attention of other Internet firms, including Netscape Communications and Sun Microsystems. "We are aware of the patent, which seems to be a very broad one. Obviously [Doyle] has chosen to go ahead and investigate this and that's something he has the right to go ahead and do," Sun spokesperson Lisa Poulson said.

Neither Doyle nor his firm's lawyer would comment on why the firm singled out Microsoft with the lawsuit. Nor would they comment on whether Netscape, Sun, or any other firm are likely to be fingered as potential offenders.

Microsoft will have 20 days from the time it receives the complaint to file a written response, said Eolas lead attorney Martin Lueck of the Chicago law firm Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP. The complex case is unlikely to come to trial in less than two years because of busy courts in Chicago, Lueck said.

Technology Dates From Early 1990s

Doyle said he was head of research team that developed the technology in the early 1990s while working on software systems that would provide medical practitioners with inexpensive, interactive access to 3D medical images over the Internet.

"We quickly realized the technology could be used to embed any kind of a program into a Web page," Doyle said.

The team filed for the patent in 1994, shortly before Eolas was founded. Doyle said Eolas is a "research and development" company that develops technologies for license to third parties. A subsidiary, Eolas Development, uses the technology in Web tools and applications it markets and sells.

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