Who lets these patents through?!

[Ronin Storm]

El Reg is reporting that a patent that impacts all AJAX applications is going up for sale.

Listed in Ocean Tomo's spring auction catalog as lot number seven, patent number 6,418,462: "Discloses methods allowing clients to perform tasks through a sideband communication channel, in addition to the main communication channel between a client and server".

In supporting documentation it is claimed that pretty much the whole of the web uses this method to operate AJAX-based applications. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple and eBay are identified as among those whose products "potentially" infringe on the patent.

Source.

For crying out loud! Who issues these patents?! Here's to hoping that a consortium of interested parties buys up the patent and then files it under "do not ever use". Fat chance, though.

 

[thatbloke]

It amazes me how the people that issue these patents have hollow heads.

 

[Ronin Storm]

Fair bit of commentary on this, much of which indicates this patent neither describes AJAX nor is even valid due to prior art.

Should you be interested, a short but pertinent blog article on the subject.