12 Dec, 2008
Friendster becoming a Social Network IP mine?
Posted by: Bob Jansen In: Intellectual Property
A few days ago I read about Friendster being awarded it’s fourth patent in Social Networking. In 2006 they already received a patent that refers to a “system, method, and apparatus for connecting users in an online computer system based on their relationships within social networks.”. Now they received a patent that refers to “compatibility scoring of users in a social network“.
In short terms, they currently own the intellectual property that are the basics to online social networking. A big part of these basics are being used by Facebook, MySpace, Hyves and other social networks. Now it belongs to Friendster, one of the first social networks. This concerns me.
My biggest concern is a ‘war’ with lawyers that could rise in the Valley. The biggest ’start-ups’ over there are based on the basic principles of Social Networking as we know them today. Or at least the basics described in the patents.
Will Friendster become a pool of Intellectual Property that will charge other social networks for using ‘their’ methods and techniques? My guess is that we might see signs of this sooner than we might expect.
Friendster being awarded this patent feels awckward. They might be one of the first social networks that implemented the features described in the patents. When they released them to the public domain they didn’t took the effort to protect it. However one of the most important rules to successfully apply for a patent states that the contents of the patents may not already exist in the public domain.
Patents are meant to stimulate inventors to keep inventing and make money of their inventions by protecting the work that they created. Now it’s becoming a tool for business to give a boost to their cashflow and control competition. That isn’t particalairy bad but the side effect could be slowing down innovations in the market.
I’m curious how these patents are going to effect a fast moving market like the internet.
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