The University of California’s patent for Web-browser technology essential to the Internet was reaffirmed this week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, when it published its notice that the office has completed its re-examination process and will issue a re-examination certificate of the patent first challenged by Microsoft Corp. two years ago.

“We are gratified that the patent office’s re-examination has validated its original evaluation of the University’s unique contribution to the technology, which fuels the Internet,” said James E. Holst, the university’s general counsel. “This decision ensures that the patent rights of the public institution that developed this technology, a significant innovation with wide-reaching public benefits and use, will be protected.”

U.S. Patent No. 5,838,906 (‘906 patent, for short) was first issued to UC on Nov. 17, 1998. Reexamination of the patent was initiated by the PTO director in October 2003 after Microsoft was found liable for patent infringement in a lawsuit brought by UC and Eolas Technologies Inc., the company to whom UC exclusively licensed the ‘906 patent.

In its “Reasons for Patentability/Confirmation” notice, the patent examiner rejected the arguments for voiding UC’s previously approved patent claims for the Web-browser technology as well as the evidence presented to suggest that the technology had been developed prior to the UC innovation. The examiner considered the Viola reference – the primary reference asserted by Microsoft at trial – as a prior art publication and found that Viola does “not teach nor fairly suggest that instant ‘906 invention, as claimed.”

(An analysis of this decision was recently published at www.clientservernews.com)