Microsoft conceds on ActiveX changes to appease Eolas
Microsoft will be releasing an update to Internet Explorer that changes the way embedded ActiveX controls are loaded. The method of loading embedded controls was at the heart of a lawsuit against Microsoft from smaller Eolas Technologies.
Software affected by the patent would include Macromedia Flash, QuickTime, RealOne Player, Acrobat Reader, Sun’s Java Virtual Machine, and Windows Media Player among other applications that embed into Web pages.
After the initial suit went against Microsoft, they agreed to make changes to the browser, then backed off the proposed changes….
…But following two legal setbacks in its efforts to invalidate the Eolas patent and have the ruling appealed, Microsoft is revisiting that change. In September, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office upheld the patent despite claims of prior art.
More details in the betanews article.