Peter Sinclair: 3D - pay up to play up

By PETER SINCLAIR

The US Patent Office continues to do its celebrated impersonation of a can of worms - though a nest of vipers might be a more accurate metaphor these days.

To revisit the mess: mighty Amazon began the whole thing by claiming a patent for its system of "one-click ordering" online. The US Patent Office, completely flummoxed by the implications of cyberspace, granted it, and at once began issuing new patents left and right for just about any common business process merely because it was occurring on the net.

Travel discounter Priceline put its hand up to secure the ancient name-your-own-price business model of the bazaar; Compton's New Media made a cheeky bid to hijack the entire multimedia principle.

British Telecom is trying to claim ownership of the hyperlink, the basic building-block of the web. It is citing a vague 1989 patent, and faced with some £30 billion ($101 billion) of debt in ill-advised broadband purchases, is seriously trying to make its claim stick.

Literally dozens of other smaller players are trying to hamstring the operation of the internet with vexatious patents the US Patent Office has been too flustered to refuse.

But I can't help feeling a sneaking sympathy for the latest contender, if only because it is one of my favourites, a small survivor, a true web original: Knowledge Adventure, an educational game developer which, way ahead of its time in 1994, developed and patented the first true 3D chat client, World's Chat.

The technology was originally employed to create 3D multi-user virtual worlds, where chatters were embodied in "avatars" - anything from a vampire to a chesspiece to a large multicoloured fish - visible to all, interacting with each other.

Last week, US Patent No. 6,219,045 said Worlds.com owned this 3D animation on the web. Uproar! Hard words are being uttered at Slashdot, land of the free: "We're going to patent breathing. Pay up!"

The patent brings a whole new online industry into the legal line of fire - online gaming. Role-player communities like EverQuest and Asheron's Call will be top contenders when it comes to measuring existing activities against the new patent.

It's speculated that even Quake and Unreal could fall within its ambit.

Worlds.com is mailing the usual letters to make relevant companies aware of the changed situation, together with a licensing proposal. Cue a fresh round of legal cyber-squabbles stretching into the far future.

But Worlds' patent differs from the generously vague terms of some of its predecessors. Its specifics are tightly targeted, and early reaction is it may prove difficult to overturn.

But while Worlds.com may have the right, does it have the might? A modest, unsplashy sort of company, its revenue is minuscule compared with the leviathans with whom its patent may bring it into conflict.

It's likely to be a matter of money, tenacity and prior art ...

BOOKMARKS


TRYING AGAIN: Insurance Council of New Zealand

The Insurance Council launches a third generation of its website, offering coverage of insurance-related issues and a broad range of consumer advice, including guides to buying insurance. Increased user-friendliness, and a member's log-on section allowing freer communication between the council and its members. Council members are responsible for about half a trillion dollars of assets, and paying out claims of $1 billion last year, so this site is worth watching.

Advisory: it's your money, after all.

MAKING YOUR MARK: Brand Channel

Described as an online international exchange on the subject of branding, this newish website offers articles on topics like managing brands during a recession, reading-lists, job information, profiles of brands both familiar and doomed, a section that encourages "point-counterpoint" debate on subjects such as corporate ethics, academic papers, trivia quizzes and a list of industry conferences.

Advisory: new tip-sheet and general way-to-go for budding tycoons.

MOST SYCOPHANTIC: Foreword Reviews

"Booksellers and trade buyers use reviews to decide which books to stock on their shelves ... 95 per cent of acquisition librarians require a review to purchase a book ... 95 per cent of books sent to review journals never get reviewed." These are the statistically unsupported rabbits this new site is hauling from its hat in an attempt to slip your $US295 ($700) up its sleeve. A logical extension of vanity publishing, ForeWordreviews.com promises a professionally written, edited and signed review of any published work; an "honest opinion from a source with a reputation for integrity;" the right to reproduce the whole review or quote it with proper attribution, and so on. Inspection of its terms also reveals not the slightest reason why you shouldn't write your own review.

Advisory: nice work if they can get it.

MOST INFORMATIVE: The Journey Inside

Based on Intel's hugely successful classroom kit, this site sheds a little light on what's happening inside that beige box that has become such a feature of today's world. Beautifully designed and executed, it is the perfect way to connect your younger kids, and maybe yourself, to technology.

Advisory: great use of the net.

* petersinclair@email.com

Links


Amazon

The US Patent Office

Priceline

Compton's New Media

British Telecom

Knowledge Adventure

World's Chat

Slashdot

EverQuest

Asheron's Call

Insurance Council of New Zealand

Brand Channel

Foreword Reviews

The Journey Inside