Re: Who is the heck Eolas?

[Steve Cohen <stevecoh@mcs.com>]

Christopher Pall wrote:

> Their webpage is at
>
> http://www.eolas.com
>
> I don't see anything particularly suprising about their page. It uses Java.
> They couldn't have much against Java <g>
>
> Mitch Stone wrote:
> >
> > According to Bob (don't call me "Robert X.") Cringely, a tiny company
> > called Eolas recently secured a patent to embedded objects that will
> > knock the props out from under all similar technologies promoted by
> > Microsoft, Netscape, and Sun. He predicts that Eolas will quickly make a
> > licensing deal with Microsoft, simultaneously finishing off the others
> > _and_ the government's case.
> >
> > http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit19981203.html
> >
> > But a search of the web, and a perusing of the Eolas site, turns up
> > nothing to support these claims. Has Cringely finally flipped out
> > entirely?
> >
> >    Mitch Stone
> >    Editor, Boycott Microsoft
> >    http://www.vcnet.com/bms
> >  +---
> >    Windows 95 is what Rube Goldberg would have designed if he'd
> >    studied cartooning at M.I.T. --- Russell Baker

INTERESTING POSTING I READ ON THE JAVA-LINUX LIST ON THIS SUBJECT
Steve


> Subject:
>          Patents
>     Date:
>          Tue, 08 Dec 1998 13:45:26 -0500
>     From:
>          Ray Racine
>      To:
>          java-linux@java.blackdown.org
>
>
>
> I am not a patent expert by any means, however, I do have one, very
> modest patent [#5,445,184] that I wrote myself and have two more pending
> which I also wrote.
>
> Several people have been referring to snippets from the Eolas patent and
> drawing conclusions from these fragments.  A patent is a very free form
> thing and is usually composed of several sections such as an Abstract,
> Introduction, Description of the Invention, Claims etc..  The
> Description of the Invention section will present a typical embodiment
> of the invention.
>
> Now here is the significant part, 90 % of the patent does not mean a
> damn thing.  It is only to ensure a competent person in the field is
> capable of reproducing the invention.  The whole point of a patent is to
> encourage the release of knowledge into the public domain.  The carrot
> used to induce a person to release a full explanation of their invention
> is to guarantee rights to the invention for a period of time.
>
> One thing and one thing only matters and that is the CLAIMS section of
> the patent which is usually at the end of the patent.  YOU BEAT A PATENT
> BY GETTING AROUND THE CLAIMS.
>
> The CLAIMS are numbered and almost all patents have several claims.  The
> trick is to make the first CLAIM  VERY general and broad in nature, then
> the second is more detailed, third more so....  The idea is if the
> patent is challenged in court the first CLAIM maybe shot down, for
> instance by prior art, but the second may stand.  If the second does not
> hold then you fall back to the third claim.
>
> For example,
> CLAIMS
>     (1) An invention whereby any means mechanical or electrical
> information is recorded for future retrieval. (Quite a big claim here.)
>     (2) A device as claimed in (1) above, whereby alphabetic characters,
> maps, images, diagrams and similar information is permanently recorded
> by the placement by any means mechanical or electrical, of one or more
> persistent material(s) composed of colored pigments on a second flat
> material capable of retaining said persistent materials. ........
> [Should cover most aspect of writing and printing.  But not a floppy, or
> hard drive.]
>     (3) A device as claimed in (2) above composed liquid or solid,
> pigmented materials housed in cylinders conducive to being held in the
> hand ......... [Now I am trying to just encompass colored pens and
> pencils, and paper.]
>
>
> So what is my point here??  If you want to discuss the impact of this
> patent vis-a-vis Java READ THE CLAIMS.
>
> Which BTW the way I have not yet done.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Ray Racine
>