EFF Challenges Bogus Patent on Internet Subdomains

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: EFF Press <press () eff org>
Date: August 22, 2007 5:40:26 PM EDT
To: presslist () eff org
Subject: [E-B] EFF Challenges Bogus Patent on Internet Subdomains
Reply-To: press () eff org

Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Contact:

Jason Schultz
   Senior Staff Attorney
   Electronic Frontier Foundation
   jason () eff org
   +1 415 436-9333 x112

Rick Mc Leod
   Klarquist Sparkman, LLP
   rick.mcleod () klarquist com
   +1 503 595-5300 x2317


EFF Challenges Bogus Patent on Internet Subdomains

Illegitimate Patent Used to Threaten Website Hosting
Companies

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is
challenging a bogus patent on Internet subdomains that has
been used to threaten small businesses and innovators.

Ideaflood, a self-proclaimed "intellectual property holding
company," used this illegitimate patent to demand payment
from website hosting companies that offer virtual,
personalized subdomains -- like "action.eff.org" for the
parent domain "eff.org."  But in a reexamination request
filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office
(PTO) today, EFF and Rick Mc Leod of Klarquist Sparkman,
LLP show that the method Ideaflood claims to have invented
was well known before the patent was issued.  In fact,
website developers were having public discussions about how
to create these virtual subdomains on an Apache developer
mailing list for more than a year before Ideaflood made its
patent claim.

"This illustrates how an open-source project can establish
a public record of technology development and thwart
invalid patents," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Jason
Schultz.  "The public discussions on the Apache and other
mailing lists have shown that Ideaflood's patent claims
were without merit and that the patent should be revoked
before it causes any more damage to innovation on the
Internet."

The companies that Ideaflood threatened include
Freehomepage.com, T35 Hosting, and LiveJournal, a social
networking site where each of its three million users have
their own subdomain.  The patent has since been reassigned
to a company called Hoshiko, LLC.

"Our patent system is intended to encourage innovation, not
damage it by encroaching on the public domain," said Rick
Mc Leod, who drafted EFF's petition.  "Unfortunately, in
recent years the PTO has been deluged with applications,
making it difficult to determine whether many patents
should be issued or rejected.  When a 'bad' patent targets
something as ephemeral as the Internet, it can be even more
difficult to get that patent invalidated.  Fortunately, a
diligent, prior art searcher sent us a key reference."

The challenge to the Ideaflood patent is part of EFF's
Patent Busting Project, which combats the chilling effects
that bad patents have on public and consumer interests.  So
far, the project has killed one bogus patent and requested
the reexamination of two others.

For the full reexamination request:
http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/ideaflood/reexam/ReqReexam_746.pdf

For more on EFF's Patent Busting Project:
http://www.eff.org/patent/

For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_08.php#005412

About EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil
liberties organization working to protect rights in the
digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and
challenges industry and government to support free
expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported
organization and maintains one of the most linked-to
websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/


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