Patent over pop-unders?

Jun 3, 2002

"Pop-under advertisements, the oft-annoying windows that spring up after a requested Web page, might pack a financial punch to the publishers supporting them if one dot-com has its way. ExitExchange, an ad-technology provider that is claiming rights to the invention dating back to 2000, had its patent application published by the U.S. Patent Office last week. The filing broadly covers any systematic delivery of a window launched after another, including those on devices such as cell phones. If its application is approved, ExitExchange will have rights to collect royalties on the use of pop-under ads.

That would be a direct hit to the pocketbooks of Web publishers such as NYTimes.com and ad networks such as DoubleClick, which have adopted the imposing ad format, among many other types, to better lure marketers during a tough economy. Yahoo, for example, started running pop-under ads last year amid concerns about its weakening online advertising revenue. "

http://news.com.com/2100-1023-931069.html?tag=fd_top

WeTLD · Jun 3, 2002

This seems quite peculiar since the ability to bring up a new window with a type of "onentry()" or "#include" method has been around since 1998 or earlier. These methods are prominent on many web servers and browsers like "IE".

How someone can say "since no one else has applied for the patent rights, I will" is beyond all sane comprehension.

I really don't see it being approved and I'll be damned if I'll pay someone royalties for providing my own popups written in code (Java, VBScript, etc.) that obviuosly this company has no rights to.