eolas

Some of the Internet's most prominent companies are arguing a case in East Texas, claiming they don't violate patents related to the "Interactive Web."

Lawyers for Yahoo, Amazon, and YouTube, among other online giants, have descended on Tyler, Texas, to defend themselves against patent-infringement claims brought against them by a small firm, called Eolas Technologies.

Wired was first to report on the lawsuits.

Eolas has used its many patents to sue companies over the years. The company's best-known suit was against Microsoft, when it argued that the software giant's Internet Explorer used plug-ins and applets … Read more

Viacom may have found a smoking gun in its billion-dollar case against YouTube, but on the other hand, we speculate YouTube may have a smokinger gun. Also the FTC wants you to disclose all that money you've been paid to blog about cleaning products. Or whatever. Even if you just posted on Facebook. You need to make yourself aware of these rules.

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Eolas Technologies, a company that ground through a years-long patent infringement lawsuit against Microsoft, now has sued a large swath of corporate powers for infringement of that same patent and another related patent concerning interactive programs on Web sites.

The list of defendants includes many high-profile companies inside and outside the tech world: Adobe Systems, Amazon, Apple, Blockbuster, Citigroup, eBay, Frito-Lay, Go Daddy, Google, J.C. Penney, JPMorgan Chase, Office Depot, Perot Systems, Playboy Enterprises, Staples, Sun Microsystems, Texas Instruments, Yahoo, and YouTube.

Eolas' suit is not to be taken lightly. Although the earlier Microsoft case took many years to … Read more

Microsoft has settled a long-running and expensive lawsuit with Eolas Technologies, a start-up backed by the University of California that alleged Internet Explorer infringed a patent.

"We're pleased to be able to reach an amicable resolution in this long-running dispute with Eolas and the University of California," the company said in a statement Thursday, but declined to share further details. Eolas couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

The suit concerned technology that lets Web browsers call up separate applications or plug-ins such as Flash or Java within a Web page. While at the University of California … Read more

Back in February, a jury in the District Court of Southern California found Microsoft guilty of infringing two patents held by Alcatel-Lucent related to MP3 technology, and awarded Alcatel-Lucent $1.52 billion. It was the biggest patent-infringement verdict in U.S. history, and also the biggest fine ever levied against Microsoft. (Although the company did pay a larger amount--$1.95 billion--in 2004 to settle antitrust and patent infringement claims brought by Sun Microsystems.)

I'm not a patent lawyer, and Microsoft has certainly been found guilty of illegal business tactics before, but this verdict seemed crazy at the time. … Read more

In a move that could shape an upcoming retrial, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has agreed once again to revisit Web browser plug-in patents at the heart of a dispute between Microsoft and University of California spinoff Eolas Technologies.

Microsoft associate general counsel Andy Culbert told CNET News.com in a telephone interview on Friday that the Patent Office agreed last week to undertake what is known as an interference proceeding.

An interference proceeding occurs when the Patent Office has determined that two separate patent holders hold patents covering the same subject matter. A five-judge panel within the … Read more