Westtown, PA 6/21/2014 – Rob Morris, former president of V_Graph Inc, has launched and Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign called Free the Browser. His goal is to rid the world of Microsoft’s US Patent 6,101,510. That patent covers technology that has been the core of Microsoft’s browser since Internet Explorer 3.0. Morris claims the invention described in the patent, filed in 1997, is like software his company was selling in 1995.
He was inspired to act now to save Android users, in America, from paying a license fee for this technology. According to Business Insider, Microsoft is collecting patent licensing fees in excess of $3 billion, from Android users. The crowdfunding option now allows people, like Morris, to seek justice, when that it would be financially impossible otherwise.
In 1995, Morris’s two man company, V_Graph Inc, created and sold a web browser component as half of their Web Widgets product offering. It allowed developers to add internet content to custom applications. During 1996, V_Graph advertised and sold the product via software catalogues, as they developed new products for the market. That year, Morris contacted Microsoft corporate about a new product, and ended up offering the Web Widgets to that company in Redmond. He was hoping they would publish or purchase the technology. He had discussions with some of the leaders of their Internet Explorer group, but instead of a deal, the product was returned months after they promised to send it back. Shortly thereafter, Microsoft announced Internet Explorer 3.0, which debuted their web browser component. The sales of Web Widgets declined as people learned they could get similar functionality for free.
This technology rescued Microsoft’s future on the Web when it enabled them to get the AOL contract during their competition with Netscape. It was also the software that Microsoft claimed was part of their operating system, when the Department of Justice tried to force the removal of the browser from Windows during the 1990’s monopoly controversy. This one invention saved Microsoft twice, and Morris claims to know where it came from. Morris commented, “Patents should be used to reward and protect creative people, not be misused as monopolistic cudgels that destroy the actual inventors, and are then turned on others, just to extract fees. Let’s get rid of this bad patent and free the browser.” The guidelines of the US PTO state that applicants must include all information they have that is relevant to their application. This technology was not mentioned in their disclosed references.
For more information: www.indiegogo.com
Contact: Rob Morris
Westtown, PA 19395
p. 610 399-1521
e. vgraph@v-graph.com
