BT claims patent on web links

BT is claiming ownership of a key part of the Internet. The telecoms giant claims it came up with the idea of hyperlinks, which effectively turn separate web pages into an interconnected whole. Now it's asking internet service providers to pay to use them.

It's estimated there are currently around 1.5 billion pages on the web and each has on average 52 links on it, which means BT could stand to make millions.

BT rediscovered the patent three years ago during a routine trawl of the 15,000 patents the company owns. It has now employed intellectual property expert, Scipher, to pursue its claim.

"It is only now that the World Wide Web has become commercially significant," said a BT spokesman. He added that BT has spent the time preparing its licensing programme for companies that want to use hyperlinks.

Ben Goodger, from intellectual property experts Willoughby and Partners, said BT would be unwise to try and enforce its claim.

"The commercial damage and unpopularity BT would bring on its head if it tried to enforce this patent would be incalculable," he said.

The patent was filed in the US 1976, after work done on text-based information systems such as Prestel by the General Post Office (GPO), and was granted in 1989. BT also filed patents on the hyperlink idea in other countries but these claims have now expired. The US patent runs out in 2006.

Like this story? Spread the news by clicking below:

 del.icio.us     Digg this     reddit!