[OT] browser plugin patents - warning!

[Mark Brownell]

On Friday, September 12, 2003, at 04:55  PM, Alex Rice wrote:

> Here are their patents, including the Plugin one
> http://www.eolas.com/technology.html
>

And here it is:

United States Patent 	5,838,906
Doyle ,   et al. 	November 17, 1998

Distributed hypermedia method for automatically invoking external 
application providing interaction and display of embedded objects 
within a hypermedia document
Abstract

A system allowing a user of a browser program on a computer connected 
to an open distributed hypermedia system to access and execute an 
embedded program object. The program object is embedded into a 
hypermedia document much like data objects. The user may select the 
program object from the screen. Once selected the program object 
executes on the user's (client) computer or may execute on a remote 
server or additional remote computers in a distributed processing 
arrangement. After launching the program object, the user is able to 
interact with the object as the invention provides for ongoing 
interprocess communication between the application object (program) and 
the browser program. One application of the embedded program object 
allows a user to view large and complex multi-dimensional objects from 
within the browser's window. The user can manipulate a control panel to 
change the viewpoint used to view the image. The invention allows a 
program to execute on a remote server or other computers to calculate 
the viewing transformations and send frame data to the client computer 
thus providing the user of the client computer with interactive 
features and allowing the user to have access to greater computing 
power than may be available at the user's client computer.