Net Tool Patent Dispute

A promising tool for protecting consumers’ privacy online may be threatened by a Seattle firm’s effort to patent the technology. At issue is the Platform for Privacy Preferences, or P3P, a proposed system that enables consumers to specify how much personal data they are willing to reveal to Web sites. Intermind has obtained a patent that could encompass the P3P approach. The technology’s backers fear Intermind may charge licensing fees or take other steps that would discourage widespread adoption of P3P. In an effort to challenge the patent, the World Wide Web Consortium, an industry standards body, took the unusual step Monday of asking Net users to search for previous examples of the technology that might undercut Intermind’s claims.