Volume IX

Issue : 4: October 21, 2010

• Internet Service Providers Not Subject to Broadcasting Act
• AOL Domain Name Dispute
• Anti-Spam Legislation Introduced for Second Reading at House of Commons
• U.S. FCC Investigates Wireless Carriers Amid Complaints By Users
• Internet Defamation: Aldelo Systems Inc. v. Sinclair
• New Draft of Anti-Counterfeiting Treaty Released
• Apple Issued Parental Control Patent
• Facebook Granted Patent for Locating Online Members
• Motorola Sues Apple for Patent Infringement

Home > Volume IX > Issue 4: October 21, 2010 > Facebook Granted Patent for Locating Online Members

Facebook Granted Patent for Locating Online Members

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently granted Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) a patent for an invention entitled “Systems and methods for automatically locating web-based social network members”.  As the title and the corresponding claims of the issued patent would suggest, this patent provides Facebook with a monopoly over systems and methods for automatically locating web-based social network members.  In one embodiment of the invention, contact content, including an associated GPS identifier and status for web-based social network members located at or near the same location, automatically appears on a GPS-enabled device. 

Overall, there has yet to be any backlash with respect to this most recent Facebook patent; but anti-competitive proponents as well as privacy advocates may soon enter the fray.

For additional information, visit: 
http://tinyurl.com/issued-facebook-patent
http://tinyurl.com/facebook-patent-article