New Scientist: BT in court to enforce hyperlink patent

"BT Group PLC will appear in a New York federal court on Monday to try to enforce a patent it says covers all hyperlinking. BT claims it invented the hyperlink in 1976, and anyone who uses the World Wide Web owes them money.

If upheld, the patent would give BT the right to collect royalties from any Internet Service Provider.

BT sued Prodigy Communications after the ISP refused to purchase a license for the right to use hyperlinks, the clickable links that connect one web page to another. If Prodigy loses the case, other ISPs would also be charged royalties."

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