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Go Daddy patents “announcing a domain name registration on a social website”
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- timrichard 14y agoI'd love it if the clerk(s) in question could explain how it isn't "obvious to a person 'skilled in the relevant art' applying reasonable diligence and effort." One thing these characters could patent is a system and method of auto renewing and parking a domain they host if their site is used to check on it as it approaches expiry. I give GoDaddy a wide berth.
- bhousel 14y agoBe careful what you wish for. There are pretty well established guidelines for determining the "obviousness" of a patent, and one of these (as you mention) is determining whether the patent would be obvious to one with an ordinary level of skill in the relevant art. The average software developer can't code fizzbuzz. Therefore anything more sophisticated than fizzbuzz is potentially patentable. Think about that. Really let it sink in. I have come to believe that the problem isn't with software patents, the problem is with us. Most software developers really are that bad. It is easy to forget this, but the people who hang out on Hacker News are really a slim minority. We need to get our own house in order and demand more of the people who practice this art. Other industries have professional certification or restrictive guild systems - maybe we need to adopt the same.
- bluetidepro 14y agoSo, say I buy a domain from Register.com and then manually post it on my Facebook that I bought this, that isn't Register.com's fault right? This seems pointless because you could still just encourage people to do it manually, in another part of the purchase flow, or maybe even a week or two after? It seems to me that the patent just blocks you from having an official Facebook share button or Tweet (or something like that) button on the checkout summary page.
- alphazulu 14y agoBut what are you doing buying from Register.com? Yeesh.
- bluetidepro 14y ago...that was just the first competitor example I could think of, I don't actually purchase my domains from there! :P Haha
- netcan 14y agoThis is silly. They should have patented "announcing something on the internet"
- coopdog 14y agoon the internet.. using a mobile device!
- ps2000 14y agoThis is genius, announcing registrations on Facebook. I have never seen such a thing.
- efsavage 14y agoPatent trolls have had open season on engineers because the lawmakers and moneymen don't listen to us. Going after marketers, however, will be their undoing.
- yenoham 14y agoI have JUST patented announcing the patent of announcing a domain name registration on a social website... You all owe me £1m each ... (I also patented talking about it).
- IanDrake 14y agoGenius, however, I had already patented getting a patent on patenting the announcing of a domain name registration on a social website. times infinity...
- debacle 14y agoGuys, this isn't reddit. Edit: Or Slashdot.
- omarchowdhury 14y agoThanks for letting us know. My browser's location bar is a blur.
- IanDrake 14y agoYeah I wouldn't normally post something that ridiculous, but given the state of the patent system, it seemed worth mocking.
- roothacker 14y agoBut that's just a small part of what the sites are doing these days, such as providing free renewal for the second year in case a user allows connecting its Facebook Account, and granting permission to the site to publish any promotion post on the wall of the user(which can be anything more than saying that user has registered an 'example.com' domain name on register.com). They should have gone for a wider range of things.
- bwb 14y agoRIP Patent System...
- bajsejohannes 14y agoIn gmail, I filter every email from GoDaddy and apply label "change registrar", just so I'll remember when my domains expire. I'm not really liking most things I see from GoDaddy; perhaps with the exception of pricing.
- AhtiK 14y agoMost of the registrars top up the time your domain has with the current registrar at the point of transfer. At least Namcheap does. Be aware of the following 60-day restriction when planning the transfer from GoDaddy: http://support.godaddy.com/help/article/3560/transferring-domain-names-to-another-registrar http://support.godaddy.com/help/article/3560/transferring-do...
- duskwuff 14y agoAll com/net/org/info registrars do that -- it's an inherent feature of the registry.
- freejack 14y agoThat's actually not the case. Godaddy implements this locally, and arguably in contravention of the ICANN policy. oBDisclaimer: I participated in the development of the original and amended ICANN transfer policy. I understand that there has been a subsequent amendment and I'm just not interested enough anymore to find out what it includes. You may in fact actually be correct in that ICANN now permits this, although I'm pretty sure that this isn't the case :-)
- Paul_S 14y agoThe patent system is like a bug in a software that all your clients rely upon and will never let you fix. I expect peace in the middle east to happen before the patent system gets scrapped.
- bostonpete 14y agoI wouldn't be so pessimistic. I've seen more and more attention to this in mainstream discussions. Some things just take a little longer to build momentum...
- jeremyarussell 14y agoThere's still a huge valid question about reform as opposed to scrap. The system would work if it was actually applied correctly. (I understand application is part of said system, but I'm referring to the overall human aspect, ie, the reason AskPatents.com was made.)
- tesseractive 14y agoI understand why this is downmodded -- software patents as a whole are pretty awful. And I think we can just about all agree that the patent office is incapable of sifting through requests on its own. But askpatents.com looks to me like it has some potential to work, and if it did, it might solve at least most of the really heinous examples. I'd say that at least merits making the possibility of reform an open question. Forcing a massive shift in IP rights (that may not benefit large, entrenched interest) through Congress is an enormous undertaking that may not succeed. Reform may be a more practical option.
- Lasher 14y agoEven scarier is their definition of social network. From the patent document: "Social networking websites may comprise internet-based social networking services that focus on building and verifying online social networks for communities of people who may share interests and activities, wish to communicate with each other efficiently, and may be interested in exploring the interests and activities of others, and which necessitates the use of software applications". In addition to Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn and Facebook they also list YouTube and Flickr as specific examples. This thing is pretty far reaching.
- derrida 14y agoIRC, Email?
- Narretz 14y agoHow is this patentable? Isn't this just API stuff?
- eru 14y agoAlmost everything is patentable. The real test is holding the patent up in court.
- slowpoke 14y ago>The real test is holding the patent up in court. Or threatening enough people to sue them for umpteen fantastillion dollars unless they pay you ransom money^W^W licensing fees. Remind me why we still have this fucked up system?
- OhArgh 14y agoI assume this will only apply to companies in the US. Unless your name is Kim dotcom
- TazeTSchnitzel 14y agoA test I expect this will fail. Fairly sure there's some prior art for this.
- gauravsc 14y agoI guess going by the apple-samsung lawsuit, getting your patent validated in court seems to depend a lot on random chance as well.
- djd 14y agoI could expect this out of Go Daddy, but should the people approving this patent also be blamed?
- beedogs 14y agoI guess you could try blaming the rubber-stamping machine they're clearly running these applications through, sure.
- bobsy 14y agoWow! What an innovation. I would never have thought of doing this. Its a shame I won't be able to do this myself now. Hang on? Isn't everyone already doing this for just about every other online venture? Someone registered via Facebook -> Post to wall. Hmmm. Maybe I should copy and paste their patent application and switch out "domain name registration" for any other service name. I think it is silly for 2 reason's. Firstly this is not an innovation in any shape or form. People have been doing this for years with everything. It shouldn't have been approved. Secondly, GoDaddy have spent time and money gaining a patent which they can't enforce. Seems silly. I feel they just wanted to add "using patented technology" in their advertising.
- scott_meade 14y agoYou seem certain that "everyone already doing this" is doing it in the way specified in the claims. Are you?
- Reebz 14y agoI'm surprised this was not patented already.
- mjt0229 14y agoI will patent announcing patents on social websites.
- cridal 14y agoYou have got to be kidding!
- protomyth 14y agoif some politician would get rid of "business process patents", we would be 90% of the way there.
- bratsche 14y agoI was under the impression that those already didn't qualify for patents. At least, this is what my friend told me years ago when he was either in or had recently graduated from law school at UT. Is that not the case?
- protomyth 14y agohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_method_patent http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_method_patent
- gergles 14y agoDo a patent office search for "system and method" and you will discover that they certainly do qualify. There was a period where they did not, but then some appellate court suddenly decided they do and now you get what we have here.
- hfs 14y ago"I also acknowledge that a $20 fee may apply." Are you shitting me?
- shimfish 14y agoMaybe someone here can patent the act of making trivial, over-reaching patents and put a stop to all this?
- jiggy2011 14y agoToo much prior art.
- arieldelafuente 14y agoThis is just ridiculous. Where does it stop? And after reading articles like these - http://www.law.com/corporatecounsel/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202572623576&PTO_Adds_Crowdsourcing_Tool_to_Patent_Application_Process http://www.law.com/corporatecounsel/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202... - makes one feel the legal system is aware how outdated and broken it is.
- bugsbunnyak 14y agoFor what it's worth, this doesn't happen in a vacuum. If you want to read the arguments, enter the patent number 8276057 at this website: http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/pair http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal/pair Look under the heading "file wrapper" for all the communication. In particular, read: CTNF Non-Final Rejection REM Applicant Arguments/Remarks Made in an Amendment NPL Non Patent Literature NOA Notice of Allowance and Fees Due (PTOL-85) The initial rejection (CTNF) is followed by applicant rebuttal (REM), several prior-art searchs (NPL) and then the acceptance (NOA, first document with 6 pages). I'm not bored enough to read the whole thing, but the claims seem to have been some constrained on very technical points. Please note: this patent is completely bogus, and I am not defending it. I am pointing this out because I think it is critically important for people to understand how the process works. Otherwise all this hand-wringing is for naught (and those who don't learn from history, etc...) A suggestion for an enterprising web designer who happens to also be a bored 2L: make a website to semi-automate collation of prior art challenges. Court is not the only way to challege a patent. Patents can be challenged by 3rd parties through an "ex-parte re-examination request". One of the big limitations to this is the cost of the legal process and prior-art search/summation. I'm dreaming of a website that would allow crowd-sourcing to get 95% of the way to a ready-to-file submission, which could then be vetted and finalized by pro-bono lawyers, students in legal clinic, etc.
- bo1024 14y agoFor those who haven't seen it: http://patents.stackexchange.com/ http://patents.stackexchange.com/ (This is the same as askpatents.com)
- matthuggins 14y agoAnd a link to a question specifically pertaining to this patent: http://patents.stackexchange.com/questions/535/prior-art-for-godaddy-patent-announcing-a-domain-name-registration-on-a-social-w http://patents.stackexchange.com/questions/535/prior-art-for...
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- josaka 14y agoThe patent's claims are slightly more specific than the title would suggest, but are still absurdly broad. The patent appears to cover announcing, after a delay, a domain name registration on a social website using oauth.
- emehrkay 14y agoDamn I need to move that last domain off of Go Daddy. Ill do that today.
- drbawb 14y agoJust started my own transfer for one of my domains; I might let the other one lapse. This was the last kick in the pants I needed to get off of GoDaddy.
- mran 14y agoHow can it be for real? Not surprising tho since the structure of the legal system and the law as it currently is just cannot keep up with technological progress.
- RoryH 14y agoThey are going to be patenting sandwiches next!
- jmilloy 14y agoNo. GoDaddy titles a patent "Announcing a Domain Name Registration on a Social Website" Regardless of your position on US copyright law, you simply must understand this important and not-so-subtle distinction before you make arguments about the validity of a patent. There are 18 claims in this patent. Read and complain about specific claims. To choose a random example, patent US496217 by Stihl (1990) is titled "Handle for a chain saw", yet Stihl did not patent handles on chain saws.
- astrodust 14y ago"Handle for a chain saw" patents are usually described with language precise enough they can't do that. "Method and apparatus for lifting and operating a chain saw" would be more akin to the useless software patents that are out there.
- Hawkee 14y agoI don't think this "service" will even be successful. Domainers certainly don't want to share their business matters with their Facebook friends. And business owners may spend several months developing a site before publishing it. No timer can predict when the site is done.
- omarchowdhury 14y agoYeah, but imagine the lay user buying a domain and letting their friends know about it. Then everyone else is like, "Wow, you got your own dot com!"... "Me three". And so Godaddy makes money.
- tapsboy 14y agoOn this basis: A photo-sharing service can patent "announcing a picture upload on a social website". A location service can patent "announcing a check-in on a social website" A restaurant review service can patent "announcing a restaurant rating on a social website" It might actually help more such "ridiculous" patents being granted. Eventually, the non-tech crowd will be affected and the whole system will be brought into question.
- Bud 14y agoThey should patent "Getting Away With Outrageous Misogyny In A Business That Would Seem Inhospitable For It"; that's their true and only talent.
- jacalata 14y agobut there is so much prior art for that!
- OldSchool 14y agoSoftware patents with troll owners have long been the Sword of Damocles for the bootstrapped startup. This one is probably of no consequence but overall they represent a barrier to entry that has no basis in natural law. I really doubt we'll ever see meaningful reform because those who could effect a change don't have a clue about the technology their laws affect.
- SODaniel 14y agoGood to see Godaddy focusing on their core business and keeping secure, reachable and reliable instead of useless fringe projects.
- bicknergseng 14y agoHm. Another fairly bogus patent, but who exactly is going to use it anyway? Even if you had the site already prepared and developed... CNAME and other DNS jazz takes a day to propagate anyway. You'd end up announcing something that wasn't there.
- patentdude 14y agoIn addition to requiring a delay, the patent claims as allowed require that you GIVE GODADDY your credentials to the social networking site and that their server will use the credentials to log you in. Contrary to what some of you are saying, this is not oath.