Breaking Windows

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a preliminary decision invalidating Eolas' claim to Web browser technology central to a case against Microsoft, which could save the software giant more than half a billion dollars in damages. If upheld, this also means Microsoft will not be required to make changes that would have crippled IE's ability to work with plug-ins like QuickTime and Flash. Eolas has 60 days to respond to the decision. The USPTO has only invalidated 151 patents out of nearly 4 million patents awarded since 1988. Source: C|Net News.com I have written about Eolas, so if you are late to the party check these out:

• Judge rules Microsoft infringed on Eolas patent
• Web patent critics spotlight old technology
• More about Eolas and Internet Exploder
• Rivalries set aside in defense of Internet Explorer
• Eolas suit may spark HTML changes

This latest news from the USPTO is huge news, and something I am very happy to hear. Eolas has 60 days to respond to the decision, so we will see more news within 2 months on this I am sure. This is not just big news for Microsoft, sure they would save a lot of money, but this is bigger news for the web developer communities.