Toolkit

Story: UK firm claims patents on Internet downloading

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Regarding BTG's patent claim!
http://patents.oncloud8.com/?pns=5,694,546;6,594,692;6,125,388;6,658,464;6,611,862;6,557,054

In 1996/97 i created a software called DVC (Direct Version Check) for the Amiga computer platform called that allowed automativ downloading of updates for a software or the OS system files etc.
The first pblic version of this software was released to Aminet
http://www.aminet.net/aminet.cgi?string=dvc
(link might be a tad slow)
v2.0 was released on 6 March 1997.
(look in DVD.Guide (textfile) for version history)
Unfortunetly I can't see a date in my old docs on when v1.0 was released, it vould most liely have been in the last months of 1996 tough.

DVC had a lot of advanced functionality,
including not just upating but also launching a custom installer script etc etc.

I found it amusing later on when I saw Microsoft doing their Windows Update.

Sadly DVC development ended soon after 28 December 1997 (v2.6 last public release)
Altough recently I decided to pick up the concept again and make EmSai Updater
(will be released later this year hopefully)
It won't be a replacement for Windows Update but will be a nice alternative/option
for individual programs etc. actual Updater program will be free for the public btw.
(should be available at http://www.emsai.net then)

I'm currently tonight working on the EmSai Updater and refencing my old material for DVC on the Amiga platform and suddenly recalled this article. and BTG's claim made me laugh, and for fun I checked out the patent dates. (url at top of this post) where the earliest date is Dec 02, 1997. and the rest is 2000 and 2003.

As far as I know you can not patent technology/methods/concepts/ideas/etc. that has been existing prior.
In al fairness it seems i beat them by over a year. And not only by "idea" as that is all they seem to have patented, just the idea.
I actualy had a functional and working implementation out for over a year before that.

And if you look at the bottom of tat patent url
Apr 29, 2003 you see something that just spot o describes what DVC did back around the end of 1996/start of 1997. That claim is over 6 years AFTER I had a functional product released to the public. So that one is pretty damn sure invalid thanks to me and Microsoft and Virus Killer programmers should be able to sleep easily *laughs*.

Regards,
Roger Hågensen
Author of DVC (Direct Version Check)
and the new EmSai Updater.

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