Company patents "image hyperlinking", threatens to sue

[solidlink]

VueStar managing director Paul Smith said if sites want to keep using images as links, they will have to pay his company - located in a single-unit office at The Adelphi off Coleman Street - between '$200' and 'millions' annually.

It is a claim, however, that has its doubters.

Technology and intellectual property lawyer Bryan Tan of Keystone Law Corporation said that while VueStar has been granted a patent, it is an extremely wide one.

In fact, 'if the patent is allowed to stand, it will probably bring the (Internet) industry to its knees'. And VueStar's patent may be contested and overturned in court, he said.

The firm has been sending out invoices to Singapore companies since last week asking them to pay up, said Mr Smith. He declined to say how many have gone out, but there have been 'enough to keep my phone busy'.

Those who do not pay up, warned Mr Smith, face legal action, and his company is 'highly confident that (a court decision) will be in our favour'.

Mr Alvin Koh, who runs the non-profit Arrowana fish website arofanatics.com, received one of VueStar's invoices last week for $5,350. He does not intend to pay up and said: 'I would rather close down the site'.

Mr Smith recognises that Mr Koh's stand will likely be a popular one, and his firm is already girding up for a public backlash.

'Website owners are just upset because they never had to pay for it before,' said Mr Smith.

VueStar will begin enforcing its patent claims in Australia and the US 'soon', he said, and the firm is also working on invoices for Internet heavyweights like Google and Microsoft.

While governments and charities will need a licence, VueStar will not be asking for payment from these parties, he said.

Mr Tan urged companies to contact their lawyers before 'paying VueStar anything'.

Source: Straits Times (Singapore)

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/sh....php?t=1972366

Since it may eventually affect users world-wide, I thought of letting you guys know.

[Attilitus]

Haha... this is just a scam to get as many gullible clueless people to pay as possible.

[Opserty]

If it was actually true I'm sure it would be on a reputable news agencies website (bbc, cnet or something), it definitely reeks of "scam" to me.

[Andreas]

I am happy we don't have software patents in Europe :-)

[Wayne Luke]

Originally Posted by solidlink

VueStar will begin enforcing its patent claims in Australia and the US 'soon', he said, and the firm is also working on invoices for Internet heavyweights like Google and Microsoft.

I don't think this will survive a multi-billion dollar lawsuit.

This is easily circumvented with modern CSS though. Just put your image as the background and overlay it with text or a block link. You can do it with no visual changes to the end users. You can even do image based rollovers by changing the background.

[KTBleeding]

How to get yourself assassinated for dummies:

Chapter 1:
Come up with a stupid idea that will ultimately dismantle the internet.

This thing will never pass.

[solidlink]

Originally Posted by Opserty

If it was actually true I'm sure it would be on a reputable news agencies website (bbc, cnet or something), it definitely reeks of "scam" to me.

This is real, you can check for the patent.

Anyway Im based in Singapore and people have started to receive the letters.

[Brad]

Originally Posted by Wayne Luke

I don't think this will survive a multi-billion dollar lawsuit.

This is easily circumvented with modern CSS though. Just put your image as the background and overlay it with text or a block link. You can do it with no visual changes to the end users. You can even do image based rollovers by changing the background.

Sure if you don't mind breaking browsers with no CSS support (yes I love throwing the monkey wrench....>)).

I think I'll just continue to link to whatever I damn well please.

[solidlink]

S'pore firm claims patent to image search
By Eileen Yu, ZDNet Asia
Tuesday, May 27, 2008 07:22 PM

SINGAPORE--A local company has laid claims to a technology that Web sites across the globe deploy to link images to other Web pages, and sent out notification letters to several companies demanding to be paid licensing fees.

Dubbing itself "pioneers of visual search technology", Vuestar Technologies said it owns the patent to the technology that enables "Internet searching via visual images".

In sum, the company implied that any Web site that uses pictures and graphics to link to another site or Web page will need a license from Vuestar.

"Those who use visual images which hyperlink to other Web pages or Web sites...whether on the first page or subsequent pages of a Web site require a Vuestar 'license of use'," the company said on its site.

Singapore law firm Keystone Law issued a note to its clients Tuesday, urging those that intend to take up a licensing agreement with companies such as Vuestar, to "carefully examine the terms of such licenses and the claims of the licensors".

Bryan Tan, director at Keystone Law, said in an e-mail interview: "Always examine such claims carefully and take legal advice if you are not familiar [with the company's claims]. Even if you decide to settle a claim, make sure you know what 'rights' you are paying for." Keystone specializes in technology law.

In his note to the firm's clients, Tan added: "We understand that Vuestar has sent invoices for around S$5,000 (US$3,676) to various parties in Singapore asking them to enter into such license agreements, or to cease allowing images on a parties' Web site to be downloaded or used in Singapore."

"We believe that this development would have a wide-ranging impact on the Internet community in Singapore, given the wide claims made by Vuestar on the intellectual property covered by the patents," he said. "Parties operating Web sites, offering Web services or developing Web-based and WAP-based products and services need to be especially careful."

Vuestar said it does not intend to claim licensing fees from charities and government agencies. The company added that its patent extends beyond Singapore and to "several parts of the world".

According to Tan, Vuestar's patent--tagged under publication number 95940--appears also to have been granted in Australia, New Zealand and United States.

It is not clear how the company's patent will impact other visual search technology companies such as Like.com, which claims to have developed the "first true visual search engine".

Established in August 2004, Like.com also said it owns almost 12 patents in the areas of visual recognition and search.

http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/intern...2041802,00.htm

[Wayne Luke]

This last post is different than what you posted previously.

Providing Image Search and Image Hyperlinking are two completely different things. The second is probably not enforceable and it will be interesting seeing them do so. Linking with images has probably been in effect longer than they were a company.