Microsoft Vindicated by Initial Ruling in Patent Reexamination

March 9, 2004

A rejection of patent claims this week by the U.S. Patent and Trade Office has been viewed widely as a victory for Microsoft over Eolas Technologies and the University of California. In the suit, Eolas has claimed infringement on a patent affecting the implementation of including Flash, Shockwave, Authorware players, Windows Media Player, Apple QuickTime, RealAudio, RealVideo and Java applets. The process of patent reexamination has yet to be completed; therefore final judgment has not been made as to the validity of the patent claim. Even so, Microsoft announced in January that it would not proceed with modifications to Windows and Internet Explorer. In response to an October verdict in the case, Microsoft announced changes to be made to the upcoming version of IE, causing concern regarding the potential impact on rich media technologies.