Singapore firm Vuestar Technology (formerly known as Blue steel dragon) has threatened to sue websites that uses visual images/graphics to link to another page. As ridiculous as it sounds, as long as you have images on your website or blog that connects to another web page you are infringing Veustar’s patent .The company’s managing director Paul Smith said if sites want to remain using images as links - you’ll have to pay up, anything from $200 to millions annually. More at: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/you-breached-our-patent-by-using-images-as-links-says-vuestar/ Sample Invoice: Reference: http://internetmarketingsingapore.c...ay-get-sued-for-using-any-image-on-your-site/ Hot discussion: http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/showthread.php?t=1972366 So what happen if you receive a letter/invoice from them one day? Just ignore, fight it out in court or revoke their patent?
ROFLMAO! That's just insane! You shouldn't be allow to put patents on web design concepts XDDD They're going to have to sue just about every website on the internet...
That's a fools game as far as I know they cannot interfere unless the patent is internationally patented.
There are more discussions at http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/27/1643258 too. Some comments really made my day.
Another news on Vuestar at ZDNet SINGAPORE--A local company has laid claims to a technology that Web sites across the globe deploy to link images to other Web pages, and sent out notification letters to several companies demanding to be paid licensing fees. Vuestar said it does not intend to claim licensing fees from charities and government agencies. The company added that its patent extends beyond Singapore and to "several parts of the world". reference: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/0,39044908,62041802,00.htm
LOL...don't pay them a cent. instead sue them for wasting your time and causing "mental distress" :-j It sounds like a big level scam
Another news about Vuestar The company reckons that it will be able to milk Internet giants like the Vole and Google for hundreds of millions... reference: http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/05/28/singapore-firm-owns-pictures
Heard about these guys in a few other places and they are really trying to sue people, got a few friends in Singapore who also got such letters. basically this is a joke and will never get traction in the courts. Don't waste your time with this garbage