2004 BTG extracting royalties for Virus Updates, Internet Downloading
--> [ deutsch ] [ News | BTG 2004-06-14 | Patents in Action | Allvoice | E-Data | Microsoft ]
Summary
British Technology Group, an "intellectual property licensing company", is going after Microsoft and others with a set of broad patents which seem to have been applied for and granted in the USA only. It thus seems that BTG is targetting the US business of the companies. The patents, all attributed to inventor Richard Reisman, describe combinations of steps that appeared only recently in Windows XP installation routines and for which prior art may be difficult to find.
Media reports
2004-09-15 US Reuters: BTG files lawsuit against Amazon
2004-09-15 US Out-Law.com: BTG uses web tracking patents to sue Amazon, Barnes&Noble
2004-07-20 US BTG and Teleshuttle sue Microsoft and Apple over software updates via the web (Teleshuttle PR)
new lawsuits based on US 6557054 and US 6125388
2007-07-21 Heise: Microsoft und Apple wegen Patentverletzung verklagt
Computerwelt: Britische Firma pocht auf Patent für Softwaredownloads
2004-06-16 AT Computerwoche.AT
2004-06-17 US? Out-Law.com more information wit US-Patent numbers listed
BTG Patents
According to Out-Law.com the following patents are involved (all are US patents):
5,694,546 System for automatic unattended electronic information transport between a server and a client by a vendor provided transport software with a manifest list (priority date 1994/05/13, US and WO)
6,594,692 Methods for transacting electronic commerce
6,125,388 System for transporting information objects between a user station and multiple remote sources based upon user modifiable object manifest stored in the user station. Claim 1 reads: An automated electronic information transporter located at a user station for controlling transport of information objects on a communications network providing access to multiple remote sources, the information transporter comprising: (a) a communications module which effects the fetching or sending of information objects across the network between at least one of the remote sources and persistent storage at the user station; and (b) a transport control module which controls transport of the information objects in accordance with:
- i) a source address for the at least one remote source; and ii) an object manifest specifying at least one information object to be transported; wherein a higher level software entity can be invoked to modify the object manifest, and wherein the higher level software entity comprises a viewer for at least one content type available on the communications network, the content type being selected from the group consisting of multimedia formats, video formats, sound formats and hypertext markup language ("HTML").
6,658,464 User station software that controls transport, storage, and presentation of content from a remote source
6,611,862 User station software that controls transport and presentation of content from a remote source
6,557,054 Method and system for distributing updates by presenting directory of software available for user installation that is not already installed on user station
