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DoubleClick Banner Ad Patent Busted

RWoody writes "Noticed today that BountyQuest paid $10 Grand to a porn king for info on the DoubleClick banner ad patent. As always, the porn guys were way ahead of the curve: he had an ad affiliate program long before DoubleClick. Also noticed that they started going after copyrights as well as patents. Not much help for Napster, but I bet there are plenty of companies being pushed around by bogus copyrights, just like with bogus patents."

47 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Ummm... by Flower · · Score: 2
    Didn't anybody else notice that this patent hasn't been overturned? Nor has anybody forked up the legal costs to do so. Say IANAL which is true, but DoubleClick still has a legally enforcable patent. Except for a pr0n mongul getting paid I.. Well, I don't really see anything to crow about right now.

    Talk to me again when an appeals court rules against DoubleClick.

    --
    I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
    1. Re:Ummm... by ecampbel · · Score: 3

      A key part of DoubleClick's patent is not present in the porn mogul's business plan: DoubleClick's use of cookies to identify a user across all of DoubleClick's affiliate web sites. The use of cookies allows DoubleClick to ensure that adds are not repeated, and helps them target their adds more effectively. It is much more interesting to advertisers to know that a person has visited www.macnn.com, www.news.com www.macintoch.com, and www.slashdot.com, then to simply know that the user is viewing an add from www.slashdot.com.

      While some might say DoubleClick's use of cookies is the most insidious part of their patent, I believe it is a significant enough improvement over the porn king's business plan to make it's patent still stand up. At any rate is is far to soon to proclaim that DoubleClick's patent is "busted".

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    2. Re:Ummm... by MikeTheYak · · Score: 2

      I don't think the patent can be overturned unless DC tries to enforce it. Which they may be reluctant to do given evidence of prior art. This doesn't have to go to the courts to have real effects.

  2. Re:Yeah! by EvlPenguin · · Score: 2
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    #nohup cat /dev/dsp > /dev/hda & killall -9 getty
  3. *Double* Click? by waldoj · · Score: 2

    What kind of moron double-clicks on a banner ad?

    -Waldo

  4. Re:Gotta love those porn guys... by TWR · · Score: 2
    It's not just the Internet which owes innovation to porn. Anyone remember Virtual Valerie? It was one of the first "Killer Apps" for CD-ROM drives in the early 90's. It's a porno game on CD-ROM which helped spawn the "multimedia" concept.

    -jon

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    Remember Amalek.

  5. Re:A credit to the industry... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 2

    I guess if you got someone to make a movie of you, it'd be okay.

    I don't really know the exact legalities since I have interest in either pornography nor prostitution, although it's certainly a case of a double standard. <sarcasm> But we all know Freedom of Speech trumps everything, including common sense, morality and other rights. </sarcasm>

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    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  6. Re:Anti-popups by Rogue+Jedi · · Score: 2

    So then, by your definition, taking some existing piece of tech and saying "I can make this better", and then doing it, is not innovative?

    Innovation rarely takes the form of creating new technologies, but in making what exists easier to use and more efficient. Or in finding different ways to use it. In other words, creating a better mouse trap. I don't think you can deny the porn industry has come up with several of those in their time.

    -Rob Nolan

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    "Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." -George Bernard Shaw
  7. XPICS! by elegant7x · · Score: 2

    As far as getting porn from them, well I wouldn't know. I doubt that it was really that good, though.

    On the other hand, getting money from them, well that was a different story. A few years back me and my friends wrote some http client emulators and raped that company for a lot of money, a lot. More then he got for ousting this patent, anyway. (Almost as bad as he raped his 'customers') Hey, the agreement was based on unique IPs not people, and I was a crusader against bad porn and unethical companies, um, yeh.

    sigh if only the money was as free now as it was thing,



    Rate me on Picture-rate.com

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  8. Re:Captain Obvious Rides Again by Salamander · · Score: 2

    This has already been discussed here several times. My response from the last round can be found here.

    That's actually my old website. The main one seems to be down.

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  9. Re:There's proof... by jimhill · · Score: 2

    Porn has driven most new technologies. Some of the first uses of Gutenberg's new printing press was to mass-produce naughty (by the standards of the time) stories. The camera probably hadn't been in existence more than twenty seconds before Monsieur Daguerre took a snapshot of his skippy. Movies? There's silent-era porn still in existence. Usenet? Web? You got it. Argue morality until you're blue in the face but the industry definitely seems to attract the early adopter.

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  10. Captain Obvious Rides Again by SubtleNuance · · Score: 5

    Simple Logic: Why doesnt the Patent Office fire up a Slashcode based website and give the community-at-large an opportunity to diffuse patents *before* they are issued?

    If disclosure is a problem - just issue ALL (*everything* not just technology) patents with a 2-3-4mos. 'community review period. Simple. No more bad patents.

    1. Re:Captain Obvious Rides Again by TechLawyer · · Score: 3

      This is the registration-based approach to patenting used in, e.g., Singapore. In Singapore, you just file, get a patent automatically, and fight out validity in court. There is no presumption of validity of such patents. This is good for the little guy, because there is no time-consuming examination (so less cost) and quick publication/issue. This also sucks for the little guy, since his/her patent doesn't have any presumption of validity, and M$ will laugh when he/she tries to assert it. This also sucks for the little guy when M$ or whoever files a deluge of apps at once, and asserts them against the little guy in an attempt to coerce a license fee out of him/her.

  11. Copyrights? by harvardian · · Score: 3

    That was a pretty weak attempt to apply the mis-granting of patents to copyrights. The whole point of the patent problem is that patents are granted, often by people who have no clue what's going on. Copyrights, on the other hand, are never granted, they're only enforced. Any time you create something original you have the copyright to it, you don't need to apply for anything.

    I doubt there's going to be any porn king who comes along and says that he actually wrote "Fields of Gold" and "Enter Sandman," although that definitely would help out napster users.

  12. p0rn and pri0r art. by Black+Parrot · · Score: 5

    I understand that the p0rn industry also has prior art on lots of innovative ways to make babies, including methods that aren't obvious to every skilled worker in the field.

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    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  13. Tennis patents by mystery_boy_x · · Score: 4
    Maybe BountyQuest can have a look at this patent
    (from http://www.abanet.org/journal/mar01/fstate.html)?

    Similarly, Serena and Venus Williams could clobber Kevin and George Repper in a doubles match on a tennis court. The Reppers, though, could force a rematch in federal court if the swinging sisters dared to appropriate their patented tennis stroke. As described in the abstract of patent No. 5,993,336 (Nov. 30, 1999), this technique consists of wearing kneepads and swatting the ball "either while the covered knee is on the tennis court surface or just prior to the knee contacting the tennis court surface." This innovation "enables a player to successfully return balls that otherwise are out of effective stroking reach," the patent claim concludes.

    Someone prove prior art by posting a picture of yourself wearing kneepads

    --
    I am not a lawyer but my sister is, so don't mess with me
  14. Anti-popups by NineNine · · Score: 2

    Actually, the porn insdustry is ALWAYS ahead of the curve. Many porn sites, such as my own, WILL NOT use popups at all. The porn industry is already eliminating them, when the mainstream web sites are just getting into them. The porn industry tried them years ago, discovered that surfers hate them, and they're on the decline now.

    1. Re:Anti-popups by mami · · Score: 2

      I think you are right. Now I only wait that one of these guys come up and admit they used a one-click ordering process on their sites doing some embellishments to pre-existing perl scripts as well. Then I would agree and admit that O'Reilly's BountyQuest site works, then only and not one day before.

    2. Re:Anti-popups by raju1kabir · · Score: 2
      Really? Name one technology that porn industry is responsible for. I eagerly await news of the porn industry's research lab and its accomplishments.

      The list goes on and on. You're just out of the loop.

      • Dirty-talk steganography ("Ooh" = 1, "Ahh" = 2, "Take me now baby" = 3, etc.)
      • Digital penis telemetry
      • The Pantyum III processor
      • Silicone-based holographic personal data storage implants
      • And, of course, the electric butt
      --
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    3. Re:Anti-popups by mirko · · Score: 2
      Some years ago, I lost my job and moved to Paris because of an exciting job offer I had.
      It consisted of developing the following in java:
      • an online distributed secure payment system
      • a video-broadcasting system using very-low bandwidth but high res-picture
      • a secure auction system.
      After I left this organization, I discovered I had been coding porn sites infrastructures.
      (I actually had no idea about this while I was there.
      Thanks for respecting me, guys!
      anyway, I might have refused the offer, if I had known what it consisted of)
      What I mean is that, as in the case of the French Minitel, only the pr0n-makers could afford to spend that much money in R&D as tat these times they were the oly ones to make money out of their websites.
      So, which new technologies did the pr0n industry bring to the civilized world?
      1. they beta-tested and stabilized e-commerce
      2. they were among the first to put live media online.
      3. they proved one can make money out of their stuff.
      4. and they were also far more delicate with their co-workers like me than others company for which I later contributed to develop a billing-system.
      So, just let them do, they have actually pioneered the digital era.
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      Trolling using another account since 2005.
  15. Re:maybe... by AJWM · · Score: 2

    Only if the USPTO has to start paying back the patent registration fees they collected. Preferably with interest and penalties.

    There's no incentive for the USPTO to care about prior art -- they get paid more when they issue a patent than when they turn it down, and doing their own search is just added overhead. We'll keep getting these bogus patents until some branch of the government slaps them silly and stops rewarding the practise. (And the PTO operates on the funds it collects, it doesn't just pass it through to the general fund.)

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    -- Alastair
  16. Re:There's proof...and your right by leviramsey · · Score: 2

    Our favorite band, Metallica, also was among the first to use multiple angles, in Cunning Stunts, which I believe was released way back in 1998. I seem to remember that five songs were available with different angles, though you couldn't switch angles in the middle of the song.

    I think the main reason that the non-porn film industry isn't taking advantage is this: in the porn-biz, the directors really don't have much/any power, while Hollywood revolves around directors. I'm sure that a lot of directors feel that their conception of the angles to use is the best, and that us lowly viewers couldn't change the angles without ruining their grand artistic vision.

  17. Re:it just goes to show by cetan · · Score: 2

    how is this "abuse" you stupid fuck?

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    In Soviet Russia...michael would be rotting in Siberia!
  18. Re:proof of concept by leviramsey · · Score: 2

    I think we're not that far away from one of the TV networks pulling a similar stunt. Big Brother was sort of this idea (the viewers influence the "plot"), but I can see this applied to a miniseries or perhaps a show like ER. At the end of each episode they show a blurb for nbc.com or what not and the voters decide what happens next. I suppose the soaps could do a similar thing, as well.

  19. Re:it just goes to show by cetan · · Score: 2

    too bad you're too much of a pussy to not post as ac. talk about redundant, you define it.

    --
    In Soviet Russia...michael would be rotting in Siberia!
  20. Excellent! by h2odragon · · Score: 3
    ... not only have we in theory at least eliminated a Bad Thing, but we've managed to get the name of the first person to put against the wall when the revolution comes.

    :)

  21. Great... by Dancin_Santa · · Score: 3

    A web pr0n pioneer gets $10,000? What was I doing? I've been viewing web pr0n since my first dialup account in college (remember Slipknot?). I should have remembered this...

    Dancin Santa

  22. A credit to the industry... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 3

    Wow! Is there anything pr0n can't do?

    Funny enough, the pr0n industry seems to be way ahead of the curve because there's so much profit to be made with relatively few expenses...

    Small start up costs mean lots of businesses will spring up quickly. Perhaps, Napster should consider distributing music through steganographically-encoded XXX pictures? I'm sure they would have a lot of financial backing...

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  23. pr0n saves. by Wiggin · · Score: 3

    pr0n saves us from Corperate America. how much better can it get?

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    "I don't need a compass to tell me which way the wind shines." - Mr. Furious, Mystery Men
    1. Re:pr0n saves. by goten · · Score: 3

      and takes half damage.

  24. Re:There's proof... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    Monsieur Daguerre would have had to have priapism to take that pic, don't you think?

  25. Legally enforceable? by L-Train8 · · Score: 2

    Currently, DoubleClick is not enforcing its patent. In November of last year, it reached a settlment with its competitors, 24/7 and L90, and the suit cannot be brought again, at least against those guys. The BountyQuest site says that this settlement and the prior art of XPics' Mr. Shuster will make it very difficult for DoubleClick to enforce its patent in the future.

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    Don't forget that Friday is Hawaiian shirt day.
  26. Re:Gotta love those porn guys... by Saint+Nobody · · Score: 2

    it's not just on the internet. who do you think it is that uses the alternate camera angle feature on dvds? who do you think was the first to accept vhs? the porn industry has been innovating for much longer than microsoft, and on top of that, they're better at it.

    --
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  27. What does this have to do with Napster? by turbodog42 · · Score: 3

    Well? What do you mean by "bogus copyrights"? Are you saying that Metallica or any creator of content (visual, audible, written, digital or otherwise) somehow doesn't deserve copyright protection?

  28. There's proof... by lowe0 · · Score: 3

    Proof that on the internet, smut drives technology. I derive some humor in the fighters of one of the internet's biggest nuisances, patents, are aided by the industry responsible for another one of its nuisances, the javascript popup.

    1. Re:There's proof... by Fishstick · · Score: 2
      Yep, I've heard the same comments made about the home movie/VHS industry. The porn guys blaze the trail and push the envelope with new distribution channels for their wares.

      My least favorite example of porn exploitation of a new technology: javascript

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      --

      There is much cruelty in the universe, John.
      Yeah, we seem to have the tour map.

  29. maybe... by epicurus · · Score: 2

    Maybe if enough patents get thrown out because of prior art, the USPTO will actually start looking for prior art before issuing patents...

  30. Gotta love those porn guys... by wrinkledshirt · · Score: 5

    You know, seriously, part of me wonders just how much innovation over the internet has come as a direct result of the demands of the porn industry. I mean, where else is personal security being violated more of an embarassment? Where else are video demands as high? I remember when our government office was looking at having some of their meetings broadcast live over the internet, and were wondering if it was possible, and I wanted to say, "Sure! Heh heh, just check out this site over here..."

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    1. Re:Gotta love those porn guys... by babbage · · Score: 2
      I've read claims that pr0n is actually one of the driving areas in both development and acceptance of new technology. You point out how the porn sites are pioneering ad strategies, streaming media technologies, etc., but it goes back much farther than that.

      One of the main reasons that VCRs became such a common household item in the 80s was that all the new Video Rental Huts [1] had that famous "back room", with titles like "Debbie Does Dallas" and "Penthouse's Playmate of the Year Exposed." That trend was a big part of why triple X theatres largely went out of business in most cities at around the same time, and the exact same trend is also driving a lot of DVD player growth today.

      People don't like to admit it in public, but the numbers don't lie -- this stuff is a big part of what drives the growth of these things. Without porn, where would we be now?

      I'd bet that at least some of us may not have been born at all... ;)

      [1] The joke there being a la "Akbar & Jeff's Video Hutt", with our "children's section" featuring Animal Farm. This is much funnier if you're familiar with Matt Groening's Life in Hell comics... Heh heh heh...



  31. it just goes to show by cetan · · Score: 2

    It just goes to show that pr0n is driving many industries.

    they've been at the forefront of DVD, wireless internet, etc. pushing the envelope on all of them.

    what a great win, especially against doubleclick.

    --
    In Soviet Russia...michael would be rotting in Siberia!
  32. Patent NOT busted by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5

    Get your headline right. BountyQuest has identified what it thinks is prior art. As the article states, the patent stands until either a court or the USPTO invalidates it. It appears that geeks know of the law what lawyers know of code.

  33. Re:There's proof...and your right by Fishstick · · Score: 2
    We got a 'Cirque de Soleil' DVD for xMas that has the multiple angles feature. First time I'd seen this actually used. Really neat.

    In this case the alternate angles were only for short durations (during some of the acts like the woman balancing on one hand for 20 minutes). There was a little flashing icon in the corner to tell you that the scene had miltiple angles. Very neat.

    I'd love to see this used for more stuff. Hell, I might even have to talk the wife into a couple porn DVDs just to check this out. ;-)

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    There is much cruelty in the universe, John.
    Yeah, we seem to have the tour map.

  34. Re:There's proof...and your right by grappler · · Score: 2
    It was "choose your own adventure". I sometimes read those books using left hand fingers as placeholders, and several bookmarks when the "stack" got too deep. I didn't know it then, but that was probably my first depth-first search algorithm...

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    Vidi, Vici, Veni
  35. Re:There's proof...and your right by onepoint · · Score: 2

    Porn industry got us faster compression and overall more bandwidth.

    Faster compression was done so that the end user would not have to sit around and wait so long for the download.

    more bandwidth was done because the porn industry knew it could fill the pipes.

    Porn industry is way ahead the the film industry when it comes to DVD. They are currently writing storyline that have multiple viewing angle and story lines. Film industry is not even trying this yet (on dvd). Imagin watching your favorite porno and getting the shot from 5 different views

    ONEPOINT

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  36. Tangential comment by banuaba · · Score: 2

    Okay, the doubleclick thing is cool and all and I'm glad to see them get thier asses stomped, but I had *never* seen this BountyQuest thing before. That is just about as cool as can be.

    Of course, finding this site means that I'm not going to get any more work done this afternoon... Going to be looking for bounties, and then ill quit my job and then i'll have a bevy of prostitutes to cater to my every whim.
    Yep, all part of my master plan.


    Brant

    --


    Brant

    Argle. Bargle.
  37. Patented Comments by deran9ed · · Score: 3

    At this point, it is difficult to assess the exact impact that Shuster's submission will have on the online advertising world.
    At this point what kind of an impact will people expect. Not to be sound so "anti" anything, what I will say is, he should have done something long ago instead of waiting 6+ years while DoubleClick built a niche in the market for this service

    The DoubleClick patent, which makes exceptionally broad claims regarding the delivery, targeting and measuring of advertising over the Internet, touched off a wave of suits and counter suits between DoubleClick and ad serving rivals 24/7 and L90.
    Can someone explain to me how people are patenting free words and actions of a computer language. I don't wanna hear about "Its a nice idea" the underlying factor is, it isn't really an invention, no one physically owns code, why doesn't someone rant and sue for using their code, say Larry Wall sue DoubleClick for using Perl without his prior consent. Sure Larry Released it free, and I can theorize if he knew it would be used by "for profit" companies he would have probably released a professional copy.

    Still, Shuster's prior art points to possible problems with the validity of the DoubleClick patent. But given that the DoubleClick lawsuits are currently dormant, is the issue dead?
    Why cant this be simple such as a "move your feet lose your seat" solution. Taxpayers spend millions on this bs.
    The existence of this prior art, together with the November settlement between DoubleClick, and rivals 24/7 and L90, could seriously impede DoubleClick's ability to assert the patent against new entrants into the online advertising realm. This could have a direct benefit for Shuster himself, who is attempting a re-entry into the online advertising field.
    Who says this is going to hinder anything, a patent is a patent. I had an idea for a lot of things people have ended up creating and patenting, would that give me the right to sue someone for it, because I was too lazy to capitalize on patenting and copyrights?
    Patent Pending
  38. Bored with sex.... by bahtama · · Score: 2
    Fry: Well, thanks to the Internet I'm now bored with sex.

    This bounty has little to do with the real legal world though. Only time will tell if the patent is revoked.

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