Web Biz

Balthaser Online has been granted a very broad patent on the creation of rich-media and interactive applications that use technologies such as Flash, Flex, and even AJAX according to an article by InformationWeek.  Most likely Balthaser will not be able to enforce the patent in such broad terms, but he will be able to compete with local design firms that he directly competes with in his market.  I do not think that Balthaser will have the resources, nor the time, to be able to prevent developers from creating rich-media web applications and services without paying him licensing or royalty fees.  The mere size of the internet, and those developing applications that rely on this technology to deliver these applications over the internet will prevent Balthaser from being able to enforce his patent in the world community, let along the U.S.  My prediction: The patent will not be enforceable, and bearing the cost of enforcing such a patent is not logical for a company the size of Balthaser Online, especially globally.  The threat: to those web design firms that are developing web2.0 applications to be delivered via the internet - If these services become largely successful, there could be a patent dispute such as the one seen between RIM and NTP.