BT seeks cash from US ‘hyperlink’ users

BT seeks cash from US 'hyperlink' users

BT said today it wants US internet service providers to pay for their customers' rights to use hyperlinks in websites, because the British telco claims it invented them.

BT said today it wants US internet service providers to pay for their customers’ rights to use websites’ hyperlinks – the element of a web page that allows a user to move to another Web page or site – because the British telcoms company claims it invented them.

In an unusual move, BT has hired intellectual property licensing firm QED, part of UK technology licensing company Scipher, to recover the unpaid licence fees from the hundreds of websites that use hyperlinks.

BT said the patent dates back to its early networking days, with its Viewdata online services, including Prestel. It said it applied for the patent with the US Patent Office in 1976, but didn’t receive it until 1989.

Now BT wants money from organisations using hyperlinks until the patent expires in 2006. Its patents on hyperlinks in other countries have already expired.

A BT spokesman said getting fees from everyone in the US using hyperlinks would be impossible. ‘It’s not practical to licence every internet user – it would be nonsensical, so we’re approaching ISPs to talk about licensing,’ said the spokesman. He confirmed that BT was seeking money from the ISPs.

‘We only want what is fair,’ the spokesman said, citing the high patent licence fees enjoyed by other major technology companies. IBM receives over $1bn a year from licencees of its intellectual property.

Hyperlinks are used extensively across the internet and BT’s mission is going to prove difficult to implement.

Tim Pearson, a council member of the ISP Association in the UK, said patent laws are outdated. ‘It doesn’t suprise me that this is crawling out of the woodwork because we’ve seen a general increase in the aggressive use of patents,’ he said.

Pearson said BT should pursue website owners, rather than ISPs who he said are only responsible for hosting content, rather than creating it. ‘I don’t think BT will win istelf many friends though,’ he added.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource