Facebook Patent: Facebook awarded major patent by US Patent and Trademark Office

Facebook filed a patent claim on August 11, 2006 for what is now called the newsfeed patent, which was awarded on February 23, 2010. Commentators are calling this the single-most significant patent since the Six Degrees patent, which had its fair share of drama. So, what is so significant in this patent? It is vastly broad and open to interpretation. Twitter's future comes to mind and according to Nick O'Neill Facebook are claiming that this does not apply to status updates, instead it is about implicit actions and stories that a user is engaged in. Implicit actions?

Marshall Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteWeb gives an example of a LinkedIn user adding another to their network. That's an implicit action! In other words, the only that is implied to not be touched is the actual status update. However, what is the status update really? Traditionally, patents are filed to ensure that no one infringes on someone's invention. However, since the dotcom boom in the 90's, they have become akin to a country's nuclear arsenal. Most use it defensively and some wage wars with them.

Software patents are a controversial issue. The Free Software Foundation have been vocally against them. May 2009 saw the launch of End Software Patents. The idea is, software patents are a serious obstacle to innovation. It places an unreasonable burden on start-ups as they face potential liabilities. So, what does all that mean?

It means that the most immediate result of the Facebook news feed patent is the end of new start-ups in the social media arena, at least for awhile. The players have been named and the roster is filled. Don't expect any newcomers any time soon. Facebook are marking their territory. Expect to see court cases in the next year or two as every player tries to grab more user shares. It's only going to get ugly from here on. You can count on it!