3 ms·

Reading the actual patent (http://www.google.com/patents?id=e-ULAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false http://www.goo

by ErrantX 16y ago

Reading the actual patent (http://www.google.com/patents?id=e-ULAAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false http://www.google.com/patents?id=e-ULAAAAEBAJ&printsec=a... ), seems dubious (well, it's dubious full stop..) My brief reading of it seems to me that the patent is quite specific about categorising celebs into their "fields", it also talks about biographical details as a key part. I think they are trying to force their patent to fit Twitters model, and it doesn't really fit.

silverbax88 16y ago
Agreed. The patent for the described system would be much more suited to Facebook or LinkedIn than Twitter. I think the lawsuit is because of the highly publicized Twitter accounts of some famous people. The description in the diagram of 'communities of people in various fields of endeavor' is so ridiculously vague that it could be describing a town, a bowling league or fans of the L.A. Lakers.
jdp23 16y ago
When I saw the headline my first thought was "more TechCrunch hyperbole." But it's true. The patent's title really is "Method and system for creating an interactive virtual community of famous people”. Anyhow, that's how I read it too: all the independent claims seem to start with (a) selecting a field of endeavor and (b) compiling a list before doing stuff creating the community, which is not how Twitter works. If that's all there is, Twitter should ask the judge to sanction VS' lawyers for bringing a frivolous claim.
- robinwauters 16y ago
  When I saw this comment my first thought was "more TechCrunch bashing". But it's not. Rare these days :)
  - jdp23 16y ago
    to be honest the when I followed the link I expected to find another opportunity for TechCrunch bashing. i was pleasantly surprised to discover it was just a great headline on a well-reported article.

by ErrantX 16y ago

silverbax88 16y ago

Agreed. The patent for the described system would be much more suited to Facebook or LinkedIn than Twitter. I think the lawsuit is because of the highly publicized Twitter accounts of some famous people. The description in the diagram of 'communities of people in various fields of endeavor' is so ridiculously vague that it could be describing a town, a bowling league or fans of the L.A. Lakers.

jdp23 16y ago

When I saw the headline my first thought was "more TechCrunch hyperbole." But it's true. The patent's title really is "Method and system for creating an interactive virtual community of famous people”. Anyhow, that's how I read it too: all the independent claims seem to start with (a) selecting a field of endeavor and (b) compiling a list before doing stuff creating the community, which is not how Twitter works. If that's all there is, Twitter should ask the judge to sanction VS' lawyers for bringing a frivolous claim.

robinwauters 16y ago
When I saw this comment my first thought was "more TechCrunch bashing". But it's not. Rare these days :)
- jdp23 16y ago
  to be honest the when I followed the link I expected to find another opportunity for TechCrunch bashing. i was pleasantly surprised to discover it was just a great headline on a well-reported article.