Tim-Berners Lee testifies as case crumbles in the Texas heat.
An eight-member federal jury in East Texas deliberated Thursday for just a few hours before concluding that all of Eolas’ asserted claims of ownership to technology allowing access to the interactive web were invalid. That means the three upcoming trials that were scheduled to rule on infringement and damages, for Google, Yahoo and other companies, have been canceled. The eight defendant companies who resisted the lawsuits won’t pay anything to Eolas or its partner, the University of California, for using the web.
Lawyers from the world’s biggest Internet companies have suited up to defend their brands. The plaintiff, Michael Doyle, is suing them and other companies for $600 million. He claims they violated his patent on the “interactive web.”
