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Friendster Awarded Patent on Friendship... MySpace Looks to Patent Random Hookups
I'm sorry, but this is UFR. (Utterly... Ridiculous). Friendster just won the patent on social networking.
The idea of interacting with people you know and with people they know is called networking and it has been around long before the internet. The idea that it is patentable is a farce.
Frankly, if Friendster, who lost the social network battle by being slow, closed, and failing to provide user value, actually goes after anyone or takes a dollar from anyone in licensing after getting awarded this patent, that's like winning the World Series on a balk.
Technically, yes, you're allowed to, but if I was managing a team that won the World Series on a balk, I'd turn around and say, "No thanks, we decline the balk. We're not winning that way. Either we actually drive that guy in from third on some sort of actual bat to ball contact or we'll go home, thanks."
July 7, 2006 in Venture Capital & Technology
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I wouldn't worry too much at about the patent. A lot of technology companies that run out of good ideas go running to the patent lawyers. This is usually a waste of time and money, because general patents are often quite unenforceable. Usually, the only winners are the lawyers.
I may be wrong in this case, of which I admittedly know nothing about. But the story does sound familiar.