[thechat] Judge throws out hyperlink lawsuit

William Anderson neuro at well.com
Sat Aug 24 19:47:01 CDT 2002


Norman Beresford wrote:
> > No offence, but it seems that Americans just love to file such
> > lawsuits which sometimes can create new problems for common people.
>
> Errr, that would be BT or British Telecom.  Who are, surprisingly
> enough, British.

Imagine this lovely scenario ... US citizens at large realises World Wide
Web invented by Briton, US goes into shock, ceases use, Web bandwidth
increases for the rest of us.  Downside is less pr0n available, and no more
humourous tales of The Exploits of Dubya at whitehouse.gov.  Or was that
whitehouse.com.  Or whatasillybunt.com.  I can never remember.

Alternately US declares UK root of all evil and bombs our asses back to the
stone age.  Just to make sure we don't invent anything more dangerous than
axes and cups.  UK scientist then invents World Axe Web, and world devolves
yet again.

I love the paragraph at the end of that AP story tho' ... "BT attorney
Albert Breneisen, insisted at the time that the 'basic structure of linking
is covered by the patent.'  Before BT's technology, he said, a computer user
had to know and enter the complete address of another page."

Dude!  Sweet!  They had people entering addresses for pages which didn't
even exist in 1976!  Imagine computer users delight at the time!  "Dude, I
can click on that part of the screen marked 'google.com' with this $15,000
'mouse' and it'll bring up something called 'ultrabustyvixens.com'!  And I
typed in 'Van Gogh'!  Sweet!"

Ah, what possibilities BT must have forseen while they were "innocently"
distributing Trimphones to a slowly subjugated populace ...

And with an interview with Albert Breneisen conducted by no-one in
particular, he was heard to remark, "Well, we got beat with this one, but
we're confident that our patent on a telephonic device allowing
two-or-more-way communication using voice or data systems via a handset will
go well.  Once we build a DeLorean which can take us back to kill Alexander
Graham Bell.  I'm sorry, did I say that out loud?"

Please excuse my wholly intentional Friends reference, I love you all, good
night!

--
_ __/|   ___  ___ __ _________  "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
\`O_o'  / _ \/ -_) // / __/ _ \  for Sega." -- Brodie, 'Mallrats'
=(_ _)=/_//_/\__/\_,_/_/  \___/ @ well.com :: William Anderson
   U - Ack! Phttpt! Thhbbt!     http://neuro.me.uk/




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