Interesting Facebook patent

[markem]

I know that many here follow technology and that at least a few work in or around the patent area. Facebook received a patent this week that looks like it could have broad ramifications on the social media industry. The text only version of the patent can be viewed here (http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=facebook.ASNM.&OS=AN/facebook&RS=AN/facebook). If you want to see the full patent including figures, you can get it for free at http://free.patentfetcher.com/Patent-Fetcher-Form.php (just use 7,669,123 as the patent number).

The main debate, I suppose will be on whether or not this is a new invention. If the invention was new in Aug. 2005 (one year before the earliest date, which in this case is the filing date) then there is a good chance it will survive (well, it isn't that simple, but I am not a lawyer and can't speak to all the factors).

Let the legal shenanigans begin!

[JE3146]

I just quickly glanced at it.. but this looks like nothing more than a patent involving a directed and/or filtered RSS-like feed... in which case I say.. wtf?

[sboyajian]

Not really a big deal. It's saying a newsfeed by a specific user, and it has many qualifiers.

It could never be used to battle the methods used by say Forum software, old dialup BBS's, Twitter, etc. The way it's written almost looks like they are simply trying to put the final nail in the MySpace coffin and nothing more.

MySpace technically could claim the rights to the "Status Update"/News Feed system as described in Facebook's patent as they came out I believe 3 years earlier? However I am sure they would drain what small amount of cashflow they have left fighting it and would end up closing up as a result.

[CheapHumidors]

It could never be used to battle the methods used by say Forum software, old dialup BBS's, Twitter, etc.

You don't buy then that this could potentially threaten Twitter and Buzz? In the social media marketing community that possibility is getting a lot of buzz (pun intended lol).

I think they'll have to come to an arrangement, I don't think that Twitter and Buzz will be put out or anything. In fact, Facebook going toe-to-toe with Google and Twitter (because they'd have to go after both) as well as the thousands of other sites that use the same methodology seems like legal and PR suicide.

Then again, I'm just a marketing guy and don't know all this legal stuff lol.