Author: JT Smith
Slashdot: “More follies from the US Patent & Trademark Office … now IBM has been awarded US Patent
#6,304,886 for software that automatically “generates [a] customized Web site without the Web site creator writing any
HTML or other programming code”, based on “a plurality of pre-stored templates, comprising HTML formatting code, text,
fields, and formulas” that are then customized through the process of asking the user a few questions. In other words, they’ve patented the
ubiquitous wizards found in FrontPage and other newbie-oriented HTML editors. This was submitted to the USPTO on June 19, 1998 — surely
someone out there knows of prior art for this?”
#6,304,886 for software that automatically “generates [a] customized Web site without the Web site creator writing any
HTML or other programming code”, based on “a plurality of pre-stored templates, comprising HTML formatting code, text,
fields, and formulas” that are then customized through the process of asking the user a few questions. In other words, they’ve patented the
ubiquitous wizards found in FrontPage and other newbie-oriented HTML editors. This was submitted to the USPTO on June 19, 1998 — surely
someone out there knows of prior art for this?”
