Eolas sues half of the Internet

October 7, 2009 | 14:39

Tags: #lawsuit #patent #patent-troll #sue

Companies: #eolas

Eolas Technologies - the intellectual property holding company which successfully sued Microsoft for the princely sum of $512 million - has filed suit against what appears to be most of the Internet, plus a few miscellaneous companies for good measure.

According to an article over on DownloadSquad, the infamous company - which describes itself as an "Internet technology provider" - has filed suit in Texas this week to "assert the company's intellectual property rights based on two groundbreaking patents, including one that has passed two separate reexaminations at the United States Patent and Trademark Office."

The main patent in the case - number 7,599,985 - is described as a "continuation of the '906 patent" which saw the company gaining a multi-million dollar judgement against Microsoft a few years ago, and covers the idea that websites can "add fully-interactive embedded applications to their online offerings through the use of plug-in [sic] and AJAX web development techniques" and was issued to the company earlier this month.

Michael Doyle, chairman of Eolas, claims that his company "developed these technologies over 15 years ago and demonstrated them widely, years before the marketplace had heard of interactive applications embedded in Web pages tapping into powerful remote resources," and claims that "all we want is what's fair."

Perhaps the most interesting thing about what could be just another patent suit is the list of defendants: while the big names in e-commerce are listed - including Amazon, Apple, eBay, Office Depot, and Staples - it also includes web firms such as Google - and its YouTube subsidiary - Go Daddy Inc., and Yahoo!. As if that wasn't enough, the suit goes on to name major US banks with on-line offerings including Citigroup - owner of Citibank - and JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Not even the food and pornography industries - possibly closest to the heart of any true American - escape accusation, with PepsiCo-owned crisp manufacturer Frito-Lay and Playboy Enterprises also named in the suit.

If its claims are upheld, Eolas could be in line for a serious payout from the massive list of defendants - although with the list of targets so big you can't help but wonder if the company has bitten off more than it can chew this time around.

Do you think that Eolas has a valid claim, or is it simply attempting to cash in on others' success? Share your thoughts over in ]the forums.
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