Microsoft's one-man nemesis threatens to bring down others

A patent-infringement judgment against Microsoft and its Internet Explorer browser has raised speculation over which company in the web browser market might be the next target of Microsoft's pursuer.

Eolas Technologies, a University of California spin-off with one employee, no products, a handful of patents and 100 investors, on Monday prevailed in its $521m patent-infringement suit against Microsoft.

Eolas originally filed suit against Microsoft in 1999, alleging that the software giant infringed on its patents when enabling the Internet Explorer web browser to use plug-ins and applets. A federal court in Chicago found that IE violated Eolas' intellectual-property rights. Eolas has one formal employee, Mike Doyle, who is a former University of California researcher.

Since applets and plug-ins are also a key feature of other web browsers, the Eolas decision could affect Microsoft's competitors in the browser market, such as Norway-based Opera Software and bands of volunteer developers contributing to open-source groups like Mozilla.org and KDE (K Desktop Environment).

Other potential targets include companies that redistribute open-source browser software or base products on such programs. Apple, HP, Red Hat and SuSE are among the companies that fall into one or another of those categories.

Applets and plug-ins are fundamental elements of web browsing. They let web surfers view multimedia or real-time content within a web browser without having to jump to a separate software application.

Patent experts are quick to point out that patent-infringement verdicts are frequently overturned on appeal, and Microsoft is busy preparing for the next -and probably last - legal round at the US Court of Appeals.

But should the jury's decision be upheld, Eolas' attorneys promise that browser makers and distributors around the world had better be prepared to pay up.

Eolas' lead trial attorney, Martin Lueck of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, said in an interview: "Anybody who's making a product that infringes a valid US patent needs to conduct themselves in accordance with the patent laws."

"It doesn't matter whether they're making, using, selling or offering to sell the product - they have to come to grips with the reality of the patent...I think anybody who's in the browser business should be taking a look at this verdict, and obviously, if they need a licence, they should get one," Lueck said.

Paul Festa writes for News.com