As incredible as it sounds, the United States Patent and Trademark Office actually awarded Amazon a patent for the "
Social Networking System." To make it truly ridiculous, the abstract on the patent reads as though it were succinctly describing Facebook.
Amazon's reasoning throughout the whole process has been that, since they purchased PlanetAll in 1998, and PlanetAll is often considered to be the first social network on the Internet, Amazon itself is responsible for inventing the modern social network.
Of course, the fact that PlanetAll was founded and run for two full years before Amazon acquired it doesn't seem to be important to the USPTO. And to think, we all thought it was funny when Facebook patented the News Feed.
Take a look for yourself; here's the abstract from the top of the patent.
A networked computer system provides various services for assisting users in locating, and establishing contact relationships with, other users. For example, in one embodiment, users can identify other users based on their affiliations with particular schools or other organizations. The system also provides a mechanism for a user to selectively establish contact relationships or connections with other users, and to grant permissions for such other users to view personal information of the user. The system may also include features for enabling users to identify contacts of their respective contacts. In addition, the system may automatically notify users of personal information updates made by their respective contacts.
You be the judge, did Amazon invent social networks? Will they start demanding payment from the countless social networks operating today?
[USPTO via Slashdot.]
click on certificate
Here it is in
all its glory
