Here's some information one of the Internet Patent News readers just sent to me (thanks to Allan Konrad). I will post more information as I acquire it. SF Chronicle Business Section: Key Patent to Shake Multimedia Industry. November 15, 1993 It goes on to say, "Shock waves will reverberate through the multimedia industry this week when a software publisher reveals that it has patented technolgy used by virtually every competitor. Compton's NewMedia has been awarded a patent for developing a computerized way to retrieve text .... Although granted the patent August 31, the Carlsbad company has managed to keep it a secret. ... Attorneys who have seen some of the supporting documents say the patent will startle the industry because of its unusual breadth. "The most likely reaction is going to be disbelief -- 'How could anyone patent something like that?' " Said Ron Star, a lawyer at Howard, Rice, Nemerovski in San Francisco. " ============== Greg Aharonian Internet Patent News Service