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AOL Patents IM

Posted by timothy on from the eyebrows-to-celing-please dept.

ProgressiveCynic writes "CNet is reporting that AOL has recieved a patent on IM technologies. Specifically, any technology that provides "a network that allows multiple users to see when other users are present and then to communicate with them" is covered. While AOL was a leader in this space the patent was only filed in September 2002."

7 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. What about "chat" and "talk"? by Rick+the+Red · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I seem to recall applications with names like chat and talk which allowed uses to communicate with anyone logged on at the same time. Do those not count as prior art because the users were all logged onto the same machine, and this patent covers multiple machines networked together? Do terminals hanging off a Vax or IBM mainframe constitute a "network"?

    --
    If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
  2. Re:What ever happened to... by zangdesign · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's called IRC.

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    To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
  3. They've made a mistake. by Guspaz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Usually when companies get a stupid unenforcable patent, they go after small helpless companies that can't afford to defend themselves in court. However, this time, AOL has made a mistake. Not only are they not able to prove this is a valid patent in court, any company they sue is likely to have the resources to defend themselves, not to mention these companie's IM software will predate the patent. I'd love to see what happened if AOL decided to try to sue Microsoft over Windows/MSN messenger. It'd be pretty funny.

  4. This is insane!! by cs668 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I remember multi-line BBSs in the early 80's doing this. I think the Citadel systems could do this arround 84.

  5. IRC? by Fweeky · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The ISON command was implemented to provide a quick and efficient means to get a response about whether a given nickname was currently on IRC. ...

    PRIVMSG is used to send private messages between users. <receiver> is the nickname of the receiver of the message.

    In rfc1459, dated May 1993, after 4 years of development. Although it is described as a "teleconferencing system", it does sound like it'd match:
    "The claim is it's a system where you have a network; you have a way to monitor who's on the network; and if you want to talk to them you hook them up,"
  6. How much is a patent worth? by Fnurk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There was a show on swedish television earlier tonight where all the nobel prize winners discussed among many other things intellectual property. One of them said that a patents worth amounts to how much money it will cost to challenge it in court. You probably dont have to be one of the nobel prize winners to realize that but its a good point.

    What he didnt say was that it probably works the other way too. A patent left undefended (in case mirabilis and microsoft decides to ignore it) is not worth more than the paper it written on.

  7. 1970's on a Data General Nova + Teletype by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    We had a computer in high school, SYLMAR HIGH in So. California and the first thing we wanted to do is talk to other terminals, what fun!
    I think most people would think of this its too obvious. Other schools were using this computer from remote so we could chat with other schools.
    One of the gamer dudes wrote a game you could play with others via "chat" so there goes the patent for that!
    It's a OBVIOUS use for a computer network of any kind (terminals wired to central system is a network, sort of)
    SCREW YOU AOL!!! WE DID IT FIRST!!! HAHAHAHA