Patent Infringements All Around

In the last couple years a lot of new technology and new social networking sites have popped up. But don't be fooled into thinking these were the first people to ever have the ideas that have become social phenomenas.

In late 2009 Twitter was sued by the Texas-based company TechRadium for patent infringements due to their use of the 140-character limit on tweets. TechRadium claimed that they stole this from there digital notification system that send mass notifications and emergency messages and also had the same character limitation. While the company is adamant about suing Twitter, the damages are kind of vague. They are asking for the "recovery of damages for lost profits, reasonable royalties, unjust enrichment, and benefits received by the Defendant as a result of use the misappropriated technology."

.....So I'm guessing that means, everything?

Another famous name in social networking being sued is Facebook (along with Google). They are being sued for patent infringement by Wireless Ink, a company that created something called Winksite, claiming that it owns the intellectual rights for users to join social networks from their phones because of a patent they were given in October of 2009. They are seeking financially retribution as well as for Google and Facebook to stop using the technology.

While there are many cases like this out there, the bottom line is, who every gets the product out first is the one who wins. That's just the nature of the technological beast. Its not personal...its business.