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Strange turn of events

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  • Strange turn of events

    If you've been following the patent suit by Eolas company against Microsoft it makes for a strange turn of events. In short, Eolas has a patent regarding plug-ins in browsers. They won the suit ($571 million) in August. This means that any browser that allows plugins is in violation of the patent unless they pay a license to Eolas. Also, any plugin application, is subject to license fees. This sets up a set of intriguing scenarios: - Microsoft may be forced to pay license fees for all of the free copies of Internet Explorer they've distributed. - Plug-in makers, such as Macromedia (makers of Flash) will have to pay a fee. Here's the strangest turn of events. The man behind Eolas, Mike Doyle, claims he's sued Microsoft to punish them and to free up the masses. As a result, though, the Open Source Foundation, the overseer of Linux may be the one most hurt. The OSF is strongly committed to NOT using any patented technology. Thus, a Linux browser could not use plugins. I think Mr. Doyle's plan will backfire. Here's what I think will eventually happen. Microsoft will throw a LOT of money at Doyle to buy Eolas. Maybe billions of dollars. Thus freeing up Internet Explorer and forever putting the Open Source Foundation under their thumb. This should get very interesting over the next few years, to say the least! chuck Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of my employer. Link to a related article: http://news.com.com/2009-1023_3-5082004.html
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