Yahoo is suing Facebook over 10 patents. Here’s what they are & what they mean in plain English. (Note: In bold text is the title of the patent, and the italicized text describes the technology in plain English.)
- US Patent 7454509 Online playback system with community bias (Filed 2001, Issued 2008) Basically, it’s a music station based on what you and your friends listen to.
- US Patent 7599935 Control for enabling a user to preview display of selected content based on another user’s authorization level (Filed 2005, Issued 2009) The technology which lets you share an item with only selected friends.
- US Patent 5983227 Dynamic Page Generator (Filed 1997, Issued 1999) A customized homepage.
- US Patent 7747648 World modeling using a relationship network with communication channels to entities (Filed 2005, Issued 2010) Messaging your friends.
- US Patent 7406501 System and method for instant messaging using an e-mail protocol (Filed 2003, Issued 2008) Sending an instant message.
- US Patent 6907566 US Patent 7100111 and US Patent 7373599 Method and system for optimum placement of advertisements on a webpage (Filed 1999, Issued 2005) Placing an ad on a webpage based on what users have done before.
- US Patent 7668861 System and method to determine the validity of an interaction on a network (Filed 2007, Issued 2010) Using visitor data to screen for spam or fake users.
- US Patent 7269590 Method and system for customizing views of information associated with a social network user (Filed 2004, Issued 2007) Deciding which friends photos to display when a user is logged in.