The problem:

When clicking an object on OpenLayers map (a "feature" in OpenLayers terms), javascript error occurs in IE.

The error happens at line 2202 of jquery-1.4.2.js (corresponds to the event.js line 670 in the git revision 3a0a352).

var elem = e.target, type = elem.type;

The problem is that the expression elem.type throws an exception.

This is because the elem is a DOM node of type HTMLGenericElement. (it corresponds to <ovl:rect> tag created by OpenLayers map).

Unlike normal javascript objects, IE's "native" DOM elements often throw exception when unexisting property is accessed.

I would suggest to check first that elem.nodeName === "INPUT" (and also use the same check in the "keypress.specialSubmit" handler few lines bellow)