BT loses hypertext patent claim A judge has ruled that British Telecom does not have patents on the hyperlink, and by extension, the internet. While I'm pleased to see wisdom prevail, I would actually have prefered the judge to uphold the patent. By sheilding us from the most egregious aspects of written (black letter) law, judicial restraints prevents bad laws from being stricken from the books. Saying a patent outlawed the Internet would have helped change bad patent law.