Commentary
A Patent On An Ajax Generator? Ah, That Could Be Important
On April 2, MikeyTheK on Slashdot posted a notice that a start-up had received a patent on compiling Java or C++ into Ajax applications. This blog, like so many others, turned out to be more wrong than right. Nevertheless, it aired an important fact. The start-up, Morfik, which stepped into the spotlight at Web 2.0 in 2005, filed for a patent on a Java-to-Javascript compiler just before its San Francisco debut.On April 2, MikeyTheK on Slashdot posted a notice that a start-up had received a patent on compiling Java or C++ into Ajax applications. This blog, like so many others, turned out to be more wrong than right. Nevertheless, it aired an important fact. The start-up, Morfik, which stepped into the spotlight at Web 2.0 in 2005, filed for a patent on a Java-to-Javascript compiler just before its San Francisco debut.The U.S. Patent Office decided March 18 of this year to publish the details of its application. There's a number on the document it published which will become Morfik's patent number--if the patent is granted. Seeing the document, it's possible to leap to the wrong conclusion, not that cool bloggers ever do such a thing.
Aram Mirkazemi, the developer of the compiler, says his Palo Alto attorney, William Milks of Russo and Hale LLP, advises that the Patent Office wouldn't publish the application if there were no prospect the patent would be granted. On the contrary, it's a sign that the Office sees cause to issue the patent and is seeking further comment. Morfik is about 18-months into an application process that may have another two years to go. If a patent is granted, it recognizes that Morfik started on the idea of a C++ or Java to Javascript compiler quite early. In an interview, Merkazemi says work got under way in 1999 and took about 18 months to complete. "We have fairly detailed records, a fairly detailed diary, of Morfik starting work before 2000," he notes.
More Internet Insights
White Papers
- Creating the Enterprise-Class Tablet Environment - by Yankee Group
- The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet's Good Bones - by BlackBerry
Reports
- How Google+, Facebook Impact Corporate Strategy: Social Media and IT at a Crossroads
- IT Pro Impact: NFC and Mobile Commerce
Webcasts
- Maximize ROI with Database Consolidation onto Private Clouds
- Server Virtualization Gets Relief From Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments
Why does anyone care about this application? Javascript of course is the vital ingredient of Ajax, which stands for asynchronous Javascript and XML. The term wasn't coined until Feb. 2005, which puts Morfik ahead of the crowd when it comes to recognizing the potential of such a compiler. Mirkazemi says Morfik is not sitting around obsessing over whether it will get a patent. At the end of March, it brought the 1.0 release of its Morfik 07 WebOS AppsBuilder, implementing a development environment around the compiler. There are numerous Ajax tools already in the market, but only one other high level language to Javascript compiler that I know of, Google's Google Web Toolkit.
Furthermore, Morfik is making its technology available for free download at Morfik.com. Although it's an honor system, it's saying, you get a perpetual license to use the Express edition. "If you want to use it [for your own purposes], fine. If you want to make money out of it, then please give us a share of the money," says Fuad Ta'eed, Morfik's VP of marketing. To build products with it, you need a Professional license, terms to be negotiated.
Morfik, located in Hobart, Australia, is a user of the Firebird open source database and Free Pascal in its product and is known in the Silicon Valley for its contributions to those projects. Will this small company get this patent? Even if the Patent Office approves, should it get this patent? There would be implications for those who want to rapidly build Ajax applications with its tools, if it does. But so far it shows little inclination to exploit its breakthrough and a lot of inclination to get it broadly accepted.
Related Reading
| To upload an avatar photo, first complete your Disqus profile. | View the list of supported HTML tags you can use to style comments. | Please read our commenting policy. | |
|
|
T-Shirt Giveaway: Each week we're selecting one great comment from our readers. The author of the comment will receive an InformaitonWeek Community t-shirt. So get posting! |
Subscribe to RSSResource Links
This Week's Issue
Technology Whitepapers
- Mobile BI: Actionable Intelligence for the Agile Enterprise
- Creating the Enterprise-Class Tablet Environment - by Yankee Group
- How To Regain IT Control In An Increasingly Mobile World - by BlackBerry
- The BlackBerry PlayBook tablet's Good Bones - by BlackBerry
- Red Alert: Why Tablet Security Matters - by BlackBerry
Featured Resource
Download this whitepaper and find out how to easily manage web content by categorizing it into a discrete number of categories.
Learn More












