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Framed SBC's patent-shakedown: website navigation. SBC is claiming that it holds a valid patent on website navigation and has begun to shake down websites for license fees. Near as I can tel, they think their patent applies to virtually every website extant.
We recently observed several useful navigation features within the user interface or your site www.museumtour.com. For example your site includes several selectors or tabs that correspond to specific locations within your site documents. These selectors seem to reside in their own frame or part of the user interface. And, as such, the selectors are not lost when a different part of the document is displayed to the user - see screen shots from museumtour.com enclosed. By sperating the selectors from the content, Museumetour has truly simplified site navigation and improved the shopping experience for its users.
As you review the Structured Document Patent you will notice that the above-discussed features appear to infringe several issued claims in our patent. In light of Museum Tours presumed respect for the intellectual property rights of others, we are pleased to offer you a Preferred Rate license under the structured Document Patent - see enclosed rate schedule.
Link Discuss (via Interesting People) [Boing Boing Blog]
Robert Berger tracks down the Structured Document Browser patent and comments "There is such a patent and it was original issued to Ameritech which is now owned by SBC. Interesting that it was file in 1996. I suspect there is a bit of prior art...." Here's the Abstract:
A structured document browser includes a constant user interface for displaying and viewing sections of a document that is organized according to a pre-defined structure. The structured document browser displays documents that have been marked with embedded codes that specify the structure of the document. The tags are mapped to correspond to a set of icons. When the icon is selected while browsing a document, the browser will display the section of the structure corresponding to the icon selected, while preserving the constant user interface.
- Inventors: Schumacher; Robert M. (Wheaton, IL); Matthews; James E. (Chicago, IL)
- Assignee: Ameritech Corporation (Hoffman Estates, IL)
- Appl. No.: 649271
- Filed: May 17, 1996
8:28:53 AM 
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Expats Online nowEurope moderator Steven Carlson interviews contributor Henry Copeland, and captures some of the essence of being an expat in interesting times.
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Q: Some of the most prominent bloggers are people we know: Eastern Europe expats (or former expats). Who are these people, and what are they doing? Can you explain the Eastern Europe connection?
... I do think there is a predilection for blogging among post-communist expats. In the early 1990s, Budapest and Prague attracted publishing renegades, a mini-generation of people who decided that life was too short NOT to join the adventure after the Wall came down. Once here, we couldn't tap into any old-boy networks or climb any corporate ladders; we invented new structures, businesses and networks.
We are, as a group, infatuated with revolutions. So blogging seems a natural fit for people like Ben Sullivan, Matt Welch, Ken Layne, Emmanuelle Richard, Nick Denton, Rick Bruner, you and me.
Somehow, having lived outside the system, we were better able to see blogging's unique applications. Rather than saying "gee, but this doesn't match traditional media's credibility or resources," we were more likely to say "gee, but look at all the neat new things it does do."... |
I was in Estonia at the time, so I didn't know these guys, but shared the expat experience. Not only were the opportunities available to build great things unencumbered by legacy and empowered by virtue of being an outsider, but distance from home impelled involvement and dependancy on the Net.
If I was fresh out of college and dealing with today's job market -- I would head abroad.
UPDATE: Somewhat related, Mitch puts revolutionaries in healthy perspective.
7:46:53 AM
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