> A quick research job has revealed that most of the interesting features of facebook, in particular "liking" posts ... are patented by facebook. I find find t

> A quick research job has revealed that most of the interesting features of facebook, in particular "liking" posts ... are patented by facebook. I find find this hard to believe. Don't competing networks have similar functionality (e.g. "hearting")? What exactly about "liking" has Facebook patented? I'm much more ready to believe "liking" is trademarked, though I'm still skeptical of it, given that it's an everyday word used with its everyday meaning.