BT set for controversial hyperlink test case

British Telecom is set for a landmark court case to test whether it can enforce a patent on hyperlinks.

It has taken American ISP Prodigy to court alleging its use of web links violates its intellectual property.

If successful BT is expected to seek lucrative licensing arrangements with other American dotcoms.

Hyperlinks are the bars of coded text that connect users to other web pages.

Experts say asserting ownership amounts to staking a claim over the mechanics of internet navigation.

BT cites a US patent originally filed in 1980 and awarded in 1989.

It covers "an information handling system in which information is derived from a computer at a remote point and transmitted via the public telephone network to terminal apparatus."

Prodigy is expected to defend the case by asserting that the patent award is invalid because the concept was not new at the time.

Other opponents stress that commercialising hyperlinks would stifle innovation and the evolution of web services.

The case has taken 18 months to get to court. BT first publicised its intention to pursue the claim in June 2000.

Preliminary hearings begin in the Federal Court for the Southern District of the New York on Monday.

A full definition of the patent is available from the US Patent and trademark Office website.