U.K. operator - Industry Trend or Event - Brief Article

CommunicationsWeek International, July 17, 2000

U.K. operator BT has discovered it holds a 14-year-old patent that it believes proves it invented the hypertext link. The company has begun sending letters to Internet service providers in the United States claiming royalties for use of its technology. However, patent watchers say the claim will be difficult to prove, and one U.S.

ISP has said that if BT claims royalties it will countersue for breach of contract due to the sometimes poor performance of hypertext links.